The Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan took an active part in the work and holding a webinar on the topic: "Post-Covid multilateral cooperation – a chance to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world?", Which was held on September 8, 2020 in London in honor of the 75th anniversary of the UN and the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
The event was organized with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UK jointly with the Center for International Studies and Diplomacy of the SOAS University of London. The webinar was moderated by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK Erlan Idrissov and Director of the Center for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London Dan Plesch.
Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, British and international officials, diplomats, experts and the general public, including members of the youth branch of the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan, were invited to the webinar as speakers and guests (Appendix 1 - the webinar program). Within the framework of the Webinar Program, the role of multilateral cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered, and the opinions of experts on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament were heard.
In his welcoming speech, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Ashikbayev noted that by voluntarily giving up the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal and closing the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan showed the whole world an example of a responsible and decisive approach to maintaining global peace and security.
The important role of Kazakhstan in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation was outlined by the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Lassina Zerbo.
Lord David Hennay, Member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-proliferation, stressed that the first step towards complete nuclear disarmament could be a serious dialogue on strategic stability and reduction of nuclear risk between the countries of the nuclear five.
Aidan Liddle, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, emphasized the need for joint efforts to overcome global challenges on behalf of the British Government.
Alessio Pecorario, the representative of the Vatican, a leading officer of the Dicasteria for the promotion of integrated human development, recalled the Pope's calls for peaceful coexistence and the development of international diplomacy.
Keith Hudson, Secretary General of the International Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, in turn, noted that the world community can and should make more efforts to achieve final disarmament.
Chairman of the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan, Vladimir Shkolnik, in his speech noted the need to attach great importance to the international dialogue on nuclear disarmament in order to stimulate international efforts to achieve global peace.
The idea of general nuclear disarmament still remains the highest priority long-term goal of the international community. The participants of the event noted that the leading role of Kazakhstan in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation deserves greater recognition (Appendix 2 - the text of the speech).
The Chairman of the British Pugwash Group, Peter Jenkins, spoke about the importance of nuclear arms control and the need for collective work in the international sphere so that as many states as possible take the path of disarmament.
Director of the Center for International Studies and Diplomacy Dan Plesch noted that the main task of the International Day against Nuclear Tests is to consolidate the efforts of the international community and give impetus to its strong commitment to building a world without nuclear threats (Appendix 3 - letter from Dr. D. Plesch).
In total, over 200 people from all over the world took part in the webinar. As part of the event, its main task was successfully completed, an exchange of views took place between officials and leading experts in the field of non-proliferation, disarmament and international cooperation.