IAEA adopts Egypt-proposed resolution on monitoring nuclear facilities in Middle East

CAIRO, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The 70th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has adopted an Egypt-proposed resolution calling for the application of IAEA safeguards to all nuclear facilities in the Middle East, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

File photo: AFP

Egypt seeks to strengthen regional security and stability by calling for the IAEA safeguards system to be applied "to all countries in the Middle East and all their nuclear facilities without exception," while working toward establishing a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, the ministry said in a statement.

Egypt also stresses the central role of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in maintaining international peace and security, the ministry said.

It added that the seventh session of the UN conference on establishing a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, due in November in New York, would offer countries in the region a chance for serious dialogue and support efforts toward universal adherence to the NPT.