About the Conference
The 2019 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference (The 2019 MNC) took place in Russian capital on November 7-9, 2019. The MNC is one of the world's largest forums on nuclear issues. Since its inception in 2010, the MNC has gained prominence as a leading platform where officials, diplomats and members of the expert community from all stakeholder countries can engage in a constructive dialogue, present their views and findings, and share ideas during plenary sessions and on the sidelines of the event. The 2019 MNC hosted 286 participants from 38 countries, as well as from key international organizations in the field (CTBTO, IAEA, UNODA).
The timing of the Conference had a special significance: the absence of dialogue on the world's most pressing nuclear issues, such as Russia-US arms control, uncertain prospects of the JCPOA, growing tensions in the Middle East, the lack of progress of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula are putting in danger the integrity of the NPT – the central building block of the international security architecture. Convening the 2019 MNC on the eve of the 2020 NPT Review Conference was aimed to take a look back at this Review Cycle and assess the current state of affairs, discuss the main challenges, threats and come up with possible solutions.
The Conference was organized by the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) in cooperation with a number of Russian and international partners and chaired by Mr. Anton Khlopkov, CENESS Director, Member of the Advisory Board under the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and member of the U.N. Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (ABDM).