CAIRO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Tuesday called for practical steps toward nuclear disarmament and renewed its push for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Egypt expressed regret over what it described as "a missed opportunity" for the international community to reaffirm its commitment to implementing the objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), after the treaty's 11th Review Conference, held in New York from April 27 to May 22, ended without agreement on a final document.
Cairo stressed the continued validity of previous review conference outcomes, particularly the 1995 resolution on "establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East," which was a central part of the package deal that allowed the treaty's extension, the ministry said.
Egypt also emphasized the NPT's key role in maintaining and strengthening international security since its adoption in 1968, calling for the treaty's universality, particularly in the Middle East, according to the statement.
The ministry said that Egypt continues to call for "practical and serious steps" toward fulfilling nuclear disarmament obligations under the treaty, adding that such efforts would spare peoples "the horrors of the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences resulting from the use of nuclear weapons."
Egypt also stressed the need to respect the "inalienable rights" of states parties to peacefully use nuclear energy for development purposes in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. ■
