Mr President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We meet at what the Secretary-General has called a – and I quote – “grave moment for international peace and security”:

• That means - during an unstable ceasefire in the Middle East and a severe proliferation crisis concerning Iran’s nuclear activities;
• that means - with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in its fifth year;
• and at a time of deep mistrust among major powers:

the international order is facing historic challenges.

And the nuclear order with the nuclear nonproliferation treaty at its core is no exception.

But how much more dangerous would the world be without the NPT? Time and time again the NPT has proven its value. It has been the vehicle for massive reductions of the world’s biggest nuclear arsenals. And it has been essential in putting an end to nuclear testing.

When Germany finally ratified the NPT in 1975, we did so after a hard fought debate. And only after having concluded that our security interests were best served by joining a rules-based framework of mutual restraint and collective deterrence.

And this remains our position to this day.

However, our security environment today has changed dramatically.

Russia’s war of aggression and its hostile rhetoric make NATO’s credible deterrence posture more necessary than ever, including its nuclear dimension - in full compliance with the NPT.

We support the United States’ effort and ambition for a arms control agreement with Russia and China.

Precisely because our environment is extremely challenging, we cannot afford to abandon arms control, non-proliferation and the perspective of nuclear disarmament.

That is why Germany continues to work towards strengthening the NPT across all three of its pillars.

• Through the Stockholm Initiative and the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative, we have worked towards nuclear risk reduction, transparency and verification and have supported efforts to strengthen the review process.
• For more than two decades, Germany, as part of the E3, has worked to keep Iran's nuclear programme within negotiated limits — with the International Atomic Energy Agency's monitoring and verification role as the indispensable backbone of that effort.
• At the same time, Iran’s actions over the past years make clear what is at stake when an NPT States Party systematically disregards its safeguards obligations.
• Germany and its E3 partners remain committed to a diplomatic solution to this problem — but diplomacy requires a counterpart willing to meet its basic obligations. That means restoring full International Atomic Energy Agency's access to all nuclear sites.
• Regarding North Korea, we join the international community in calling on North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programme and return to full compliance with its international obligations.

Looking ahead, our task is clear. Not only must we preserve the Treaty we have. We must also ensure that it remains fit for a new reality.

Together with our partners, Germany is driving this effort, working to ensure that the NPT remains capable of responding to the risks created by artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities and space technology while harnessing new technologies for modernizing arms control.

Excellencies, we are under no illusion as to the scale of this challenge. But the history of this treaty gives us reason to persist. The NPT remains one of the most successful demonstrations of what an international agreement can accomplish.

As we enter the 11th Review Conference, Germany calls upon on all of us to honor these achievements.

Thank you.