Kazakhstan last week reaffirmed its offer to house an international nuclear fuel bank, United Press International reported (see GSN, April 6).
The bank, monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, would provide fuel for atomic power plants in nations that pledged to avoid development of enrichment programs that could produce nuclear weapons material.
Astana has already made its interest in the initiative known. Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev raised the matter again at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to the Kazinform news agency.
The fuel bank could play an important role in nonproliferation, the diplomat said.
"The coming into force of the agreement on nuclear free zone in our region in March this year has become a weighty contribution of Kazakhstan and the Central Asian countries to the implementation of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons," Saudabayev said. "The zone may play a great practical role in preventing the uncontrolled proliferation of nuclear materials and the fight against terrorism" (see GSN, March 23).
The government of Kazakhstan also favors the Obama administration's plans for a summit next year on nuclear security, according to Saudabayev (United Press International, Sept. 28).