Arab committee on weapons- free zone to meet in Cairo
Regional, Military, 1/13/1998

The next meeting of the Arab technical committee in charge of preparing a draft regional treaty to turn the Middle East region into an area free from weapons of mass destruction will be held on February 15-16 at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo.

Arab states experts and representatives in the fields of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons are taking part in the deliberations of the committee. The Arab League assistant secretary general for foreign political affairs, Muhammad Ismael, said that the Arab states' representatives will proceed with discussions on the proposed regional treaty's articles.

He added that preparing the draft treaty by the Arab states will benefit Arab negotiators with Israel by stressing the existence of Arab consensus on the necessity of making Israel subject its nuclear installations to the guarantees of the International Atomic Energy Agency and sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Ismael warned against the continuation of the present imbalance in the region as a result of Israel's possession of the nuclear weapons. However, the next meeting of the committee in charge of following up and monitoring Israeli activities against the NPT will take place on February 18 and 19 at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo.

An Arab League senior official said the committee's discussions have a special significance because they deal with a sensitive issue which threatens the region's security and stability, because Israel is the only country in the region which possesses nuclear weapons. The official added that the committee seeks to suggest suitable ways to confront nuclear armament and warning Arab and international media of the dangers of the Israeli nuclear armament, which poses a threat for world peace and security.

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