President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the nation today on the International Day against Nuclear Tests. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
He recalled that many years ago the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, which had damaged people's health and the environment, was closed.
"Exactly 35 years ago, in a difficult international situation, the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was closed. It left a painful mark on the fate of our people. This date will serve as a reminder to all humanity of the tragic consequences of tests, a call to prevent them in the future," the president said.
According to him, by voluntarily giving up the fourth-largest nuclear arsenal on the planet, Kazakhstan made a historic choice in favor of peace, security, and sustainable development. This decision fulfilled the aspirations of Kazakhs and demonstrated our state's responsibility for the fate of future generations.
The aspiration for peace and friendship with all states, enshrined in the preamble of the New Constitution, remains an unshakable principle of Kazakhstan's foreign policy.
"Our country's position as one of the leaders of the global anti-nuclear movement is unchanged: we call for negotiations between nuclear powers, the earliest entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and decisive multilateral actions to eliminate the threat of the use of nuclear weapons.
Atomic energy must serve exclusively creative purposes. At the national referendum, our people firmly supported the course toward the development of nuclear energy, laying a solid foundation for Kazakhstan's economic and scientific-technological progress for decades to come.
This strategic choice is an important part of the transformations opening a new stage in the country's sustainable development. Large-scale reforms in all spheres of public life are aimed at building a Just, Progressive, Clean Kazakhstan.
I am convinced that together we will achieve this high goal," Tokayev concluded.