NEWS RELEASES
MARCH 29, 2000(11:00 A.M. EST)NO. 57SOUTH ASIA GROUP TO MEET IN OTTAWA
March 29, 2000 (11:00 a.m. EST) No. 57
SOUTH ASIA GROUP TO MEET IN OTTAWA
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
Raymond Chan today announced that the South Asia Task Force will meet in
Ottawa on March 29 and 30.
"Nearly two years after the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan, the global
implications of nuclear proliferation in South Asia are as stark as ever," said Mr.
Axworthy. "Given the renewed tensions between India and Pakistan, the Ottawa
meeting will provide a timely opportunity for exchanging views and information on
efforts to achieve the objectives set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1172."
Adopted on June 6, 1998, UN Security Council Resolution 1172 called on India and
Pakistan to refrain from further testing and to take a number of steps, including
cessation of nuclear weapons and missile development programs, adherence to the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT), and resumption of bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues. The Task
Force mandate also includes strengthening of the non-proliferation regime. The
Ottawa meeting will discuss next month's NPT Review Conference and the role that
South Asian developments will have in that context.
"The nuclear weapons capability in India and Pakistan adds a new and potentially
disastrous dimension to the Indo-Pakistani conflict," said Mr. Chan. "Concerned
countries must make every effort to halt and reverse the arms race in the
subcontinent, and to reduce bilateral tension and encourage the resumption of the
dialogue between the two states."
The South Asia Task Force was established in June 1998 to consider issues arising
from Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in May of that year. Mandated by ministers
of participating countries, the Task Force includes senior officials and experts from
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Republic of Korea, Portugal (as current holder of the European Union Presidency),
Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European
Commission. Canada is the current Chair of the group.
Previous meetings of the Task Force were held in London, Tokyo, Kyiv and New
York.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Naseem Nuraney
Office of the Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
(613) 995-1852
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
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