Source: Arabnews:

A GROUP of non-nuclear weapon states has expressed its resolve to move ahead with practical steps to advance the implementation of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference Action Plan (“Action Plan”) and to pursue the goal of a nuke-free world.
At a meeting in New York on Sept. 26, 2012 on the margins of the UN General Assembly, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates reaffirmed their “commitment to contribute to the realization of a robust regime across the three pillars of the NPT.” As agreed at the meeting in Istanbul in June, they identified future prospects.
While acknowledging the efforts of several states toward achieving these objectives, the Group of 10 — initiated in 2010 by Australia and Japan — said that “much more needs to be done.” In particular, the group known as Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) stressed the need for the convening of a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, “to be attended by all states in the region on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at.” In a joint statement on Sept. 26, NPDI foreign ministers assured full support for the efforts by the Finnish facilitator “to consult broadly with all relevant stakeholders to prepare for a successful conference and call upon all parties in the Middle East to engage, in the spirit of genuine and constructive cooperation.” The conference was expected to be convened in 2012. But a date has yet to be announced, and whether Israeli would participate, remains an open question.
The cross-regional group said: “We have demonstrated our valid interest, as leading non-nuclear-weapon states, in greater transparency surrounding nuclear disarmament efforts. The NPDI developed a draft reporting form, guided by Action 21 of the Action Plan, as a contribution to the discussions between the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) on transparency and reporting.

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