Government of Cape Verde organizes a national seminar on the CTBT in the capital of Cape Verde, Praia

In cooperation with the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Government of Cape Verde organized a national seminar on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in the capital of Cape Verde, Praia, on 10 February 2005. Some 50 participants representing the Cape Verde Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Science and Technology, Transportation and the Interior attended the seminar. The objective of the seminar was to enhance the understanding of the CTBT which would assist the national process for Treaty ratification and facilitate the early establishment of the infrasound station IS11 in Cape Verde. The Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Ambassador Wolfgang Hoffmann, who was in Cape Verde on an official visit at the time of the seminar, used the opportunity to address seminar participants. He expressed his hope that the seminar would promote the cooperation between Cape Verde and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, leading to a more active Cape Verdean role in support of the CTBT and allowing Cape Verde to enjoy membership benefits of the CTBT regime. In the course of the seminar, representatives of the PTS discussed with seminar participants a number of key issues including the political significance of the CTBT; benefits for Signatories States arising from the CTBT regime; the verification system of the CTBT and potential civil and scientific application of the CTBT verification technologies. The Cape Verdean representatives shared their experiences and spoke about the Cape Verdean perspectives of the CTBT, its ratification and national implementation procedures. Discussions also focused on the need for the establishment of a National Data Centre and the nomination of a National Authority dealing with CTBT-related issues.