UN chief to attend Washington's nuclear summit

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington next week, which will allow him the opportunity to present his own concerns over non-proliferation issues, a spokesman said Friday.

The nuclear summit called by US President Barack Obama will be attended by 38 government leaders and officials from another nine countries.

The two-day meeting beginning on Monday follows recent developments in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, including the signing on Thursday of a new strategic nuclear reduction treaty by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Prague.

UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York that Ban is hoping that the nuclear summit will help keep momentum for the success of the UN conference to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in May at UN headquarters.

"When he attends next week's summit in Washington, the Secretary General will highlight the importance of coordination of global efforts at the national, regional and international level to address these challenges, including strengthening international conventions and institutions," Haq said.

"He will also discuss his initiatives, including the Action Plan on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317924,un-chief-to-attend-washingtons-nuclear-summit.html.