18-19 Apr 2007
More than 120 senior officials representing 43 countries from five continents, as well as a number of international organizations and academic institutions, met in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss the challenges of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) on 18 and 19 April 2007.
The seminar, hosted by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gathered participants from NATO and Partner countries, countries from the Alliance's Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chairman of the United Nations Security Council 1540 Committee, which deals with non-proliferation issues, and a high official from the Office of the Personal Representative on non-proliferation of WMD in the Council of the European Union were among the 21 speakers.
Presentations, followed by panel discussions, allowed an in-depth debate on the seminar’s two general themes: efforts to prevent access by non-state actors to WMD and ballistic missile technology, and the broader theme on current and future challenges in non-proliferation.
The presentations covered all types and aspects of WMD, including the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, export controls, as well as regional initiatives and national contributions to the non-proliferation efforts of the international community.
This is the third NATO seminar on the challenges of WMD proliferation to be organised under the auspices of NATO’s Senior Politico-Military Group on Proliferation.
The previous seminars were hosted by the NATO Defence College in Rome in 2004, and by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia in 2005.
