Government of Ethiopia hosts national seminar on CTBT

In cooperation with the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia organized a national seminar on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 14 June 2005 in Addis Ababa. The objective of the seminar was to enhance the understanding of the Treaty by the relevant actors in the Ethiopian Government which would assist the national process for Treaty ratification and advance technical work. The 38 participants at the seminar represented various Government Ministries and Departments, including the Science and Technology Commission which is the Ethiopian National Authority dealing with CTBT related issues. In his opening statement, the Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Tekeda Alemu, reaffirmed Ethiopia's commitment to the realization of the purposes and objectives of the CTBT. The Minister stated that the ratification process was in its final stage and expressed Ethiopia's readiness to meet and discharge fully its responsibilities under the Treaty. The Director of the International Data Centre of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO, Mr. Lassina Zerbo, delivered a statement on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Ambassador Wolfgang Hoffmann. In his statement, Mr. Hoffmann said that Ethiopia's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation in general and the CTBT in particular had been well demonstrated over the past decade. He also expressed his hope that the seminar would provide insight into possible ways and means to advance the work of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission in Ethiopia. During the seminar, representatives of the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO gave presentations on political, legal and technical aspects of the CTBT and on the work of the Preparatory Commission. Further deliberations focused on membership benefits for States Signatories of the CTBT and civil and scientific applications of CTBT verification technologies. Ethiopia signed the Treaty on 25 September 1996 and hosts two International Monitoring System facilities, an auxiliary seismic station in Furi Furi and a radionuclide station in Filtu.