The agenda includes issues such as the cessation of the nuclear arms race and the prevention of nuclear war
A view during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Iran at the request of the United States at UN headquarters in New York City, US, January 15, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that Pakistan had assumed the presidency of the United Nations (UN) Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva.
In a post on X, the FO said the UN CD was the world’s single multilateral forum for negotiating disarmament and arms control treaties, adding that it was based at the UN Office at Geneva and brought together 65 member states, including all states possessing nuclear weapons.
It said Ambassador Tahir Hussain Andrabi, serving as the additional secretary (arms control and disarmament) and FO spokesperson, would preside over the conference’s meetings.
The FO said Pakistan held the final presidency of the conference’s 2026 session and would conclude its proceedings for the year, adding that during its presidency, Pakistan would “steer negotiations on the Annual Report of the CD and the corresponding resolution in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly”.
“Pakistan has initiated consultations in its role as president of the CD. Today, Ambassador Tahir Hussain Andrabi chaired a meeting of the previous presidents of the Conference for the 2026 session and held consultations with representatives of the regional groups,” it added.
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Pakistan Assumes Presidency of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament
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— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 17, 2026
It further stated that the agenda of the CD included key issues such as the cessation of the nuclear arms race, the prevention of nuclear war and the prevention of the weaponisation of outer space, among other matters.
Read: Nuclear arms: Pakistan calls for new security paradigm
The statement said that the CD and its predecessor bodies had negotiated some of the most consequential instruments of the international security architecture, including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
The FO added that Pakistan’s assumption of the CD presidency at the critical juncture reaffirmed the “trust placed by the international community in Pakistan’s diplomatic leadership” and its “constructive role in multilateral arms control and disarmament diplomacy”.
Read More: UN chief ‘disappointed’ after nuclear treaty conference fails to reach agreement
“It places Pakistan at the centre of the global discourse on arms control, disarmament, and international peace and security,” it noted.
