BRUSSELS, Nov 13 (KUNA) -- A former Kuwaiti ambassador to the European Union has called on Iran to sign the Convention on Nuclear Safety as a "confidence building measure for the Gulf region." Speaking at a conference on non-proliferation in Brussels, late Thursday, Nabeela Al-Mulla, who attended by a special invitation, said that "for us in the Gulf a more important confidence building measure is for Iran to be party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety because we are concerned about the safety of the nuclear reactors in the region." She noted that although there are very stringent measures in the agreement on Iran's nuclear programme signed between Iran and the G5+1 group about the nuclear safety measures, but for the general public it is very important that Iran becomes a party to the nuclear safety convention .
Al-Mulla, also former Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the UN and other International Organisations in Vienna, and to the UN in New York, was invited to speak in her personal capacity to the fourth EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament conference, held in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday.
She spoke on the topic of The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as a regional confidence building measure (CBM) in the Middle East and South Asia.
The rationale behind the topic is that countries of the region, in particular Iran and Israel, might be closer to be party to the CTBT because the circumstances "are such that they could be there." Al-Mulla opined that a step-by-step approach in ratifying the CTBT might be easier for Iran and Israel and even for countries like India and Pakistan who have declared a moratorium on nuclear testing. On her part, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said the deal on Iran's nuclear programme was achieved by patient, obstinate and courageous multilateral diplomacy, in her opening address at the conference.
Helga Schmid, Deputy to Mogherini, reflected on the EU's role in the negotiations with Iran in her keynote address.
More than 300 experts from 60 countries attended the 4th EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference, organised by the EU-Non-Proliferation Consortium.
The EU Non-Proliferation Consortium which began its work in January 2011 is managed jointly by four European institutes entrusted with the project, in close cooperation with the EU High Representative.
The four institutes are the Foundation for strategic research in Paris, the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt, the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. (end) nk.rk