JEDDAH, 6 March 2005 — Saudi Arabia will establish an independent commission to ensure non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, press reports said yesterday quoting high-level sources. The commission, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will implement agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other related organizations.
“The new commission is planned as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to make the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction,” Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted the sources as saying.
Committees set up in 1995 for monitoring biological, chemical and nuclear weapons will be merged in the new body, the paper said.
Last month, the Council of Ministers authorized Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to sign an agreement with IAEA to implement the guarantees within the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
