DFA Hosts Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative Meeting

Delegates for the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative Senior Officials Meeting (NPDI-SOM) flank Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo (front row, second from left) and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s First Assistant Secretary for International Security Amanda Gorely (front row, third from left) during their meeting in Manila on 21-22 March 2019. Undersecretary Manalo and First Assistant Secretary Gorely served as co-chairs and led the discussion of the agenda items of the meeting. (DFA UNIO photo)

MANILA 05 April 2019 – The Philippines co-coordinated and co-chaired with Australia a meeting in preparations for a series of meetings on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament initiatives. 

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo led the Philippine hosting of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) Senior Officials Meeting on 21-22 March 2019 in Manila.

The meeting is part of the preparations for the upcoming third Preparatory Committee of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to be held from 29 April to 10 May 2019 in New York, and ultimately for the NPT Review Conference in 2020.

NPDI members discussed the next vital steps and approaches it will take on nuclear disarmament to promote concrete and practical measures towards a successful 2020 NPT Review Conference, such as refining the group’s working papers and its outreach activities with other concerned parties.

The Philippines welcomed 24 delegates from the NPDI country members including Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, and Turkey.

The Philippine delegation was composed of Ambassador to Austria Ma. Cleofe R. Natividad, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for United Nations and International Organizations Noralyn Jubaira-Baja, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and International Organizations in Geneva Maria Teresa Almojuela, Philippine Mission to the UN in New York Ministers Ariel Peñaranda, Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of United Nations and Other Internationl Organizations (DFA-UNIO) Director Arlene Gonzales-Macaisa, Senior Foreign Affairs Adviser Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, and Philippine Embassy in Vienna Third Secretary Allen Venince Carillo.

Founded in September 2010 within the framework of the NPT, the NPDI focuses on the practical steps that will promote the consensus outcomes of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, which was headed by then Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Cabactulan.

The Philippines joined the NPDI in 2013, recognizing its significance in the NPT process and to take part in the efforts to bridge the gap between states with differing positions on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. From then on, the Philippines has sought out areas of convergence on the implementation of the NPT and how best to move it forward. END

Former Australian Ambassador to the Philippines and now Australian First Assistant Secretary of the International Security Amanda Gorely (second from left) co-chairs the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative Senior Officials Meeting with Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo (third from left). One of the goals of the NPDI is to advance the nuclear disarmament agenda. (DFA UNIO photo)

Members of the Philippine delegation at a post-meeting huddle with other delegates of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) to consolidate the discussions and agreements reached during the two-day event. (DFA UNIO photo)