10 March 2026, Vienna - Kazakhstan delegation is participating in the 66^th session of Working Group “B” of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which is being held under the chairmanship of Erlan Batyrbekov, Director General of the National Nuclear Center of Kazakhstan.

In his statement, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, noted that the current challenges in the international security architecture require urgent collective responses and the restoration of mutual trust among states. In this regard, he reminded the participants of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, announced at the 80^th session of the UN General Assembly, to resume high-level dialogue among nuclear-weapon states. The initiative aims to significantly reduce the risk of the use of nuclear weapons and strengthen the regimes of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Kazakhstan also expressed its readiness to provide a platform for such negotiations.

The Ambassador also emphasized that in 2026 Kazakhstan and the international community mark the 35^th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, which coincides with the 30^th anniversary of the signing of the CTBT. The closure of the test site became an important historical milestone that contributed to the establishment of a global moratorium on nuclear testing, which ultimately led to negotiations and the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

In this regard, Kazakhstan reaffirmed that it will continue to strictly adhere to its international commitments and contribute to the CTBTO verification regime by providing real-time data from the five International Monitoring System (IMS) stations located on its territory.

The 66^th session of the CTBTO Working Group “B” will continue until 19 March 2026. At the conclusion of the session, the States Signatories are expected to review and adopt the final report of the meeting.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-vienna/press/news/details/1178209?lang=kk