Bahrain urges Israel to sign NPT

Bahrain’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Jamal Fares Al-Ruwaie said that NPT was the backbone of the international disarmament efforts aiming to achieve global peace, stressing the importance of dealing equally with the three elements of the treaty, especially regarding “the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination,” as stipulated by Article IV.

Al-Ruwaie called upon the international community to implement the NPT fully in order to reach a nuclear-free world, urging Israel to join the treaty and subject its nuclear facilities to international inspection in line with the resolution of the UN Security Council, so as to achieve regional and global security and peace.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has affirmed the need to hold the international conference to ban nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East, and reiterated its firm stance on exerting serious efforts to promote a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, including the Arabian Gulf.

In a statement during the third session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

He said that promoting a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East is not only an Arab demand, but also an international commitment that should be honoured.

He welcomed the Geneva interim agreement, or the Joint Plan of Action, signed between Iran and the P5+1 countries in Geneva, Switzerland, noting that the deal is in accordance with Bahrain’s principled stances and firm policies that diplomacy is the best way to achieve global stability, security and peace and promote the Middle East region as a nuclear-free zone.