Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa submitted a document on the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to the United Nations during his visit to New York this week.

"The document was handed to the UN while the foreign minister was visiting the UN Headquarters," spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Michael Tene said on Friday.

Only eight countries had yet to ratify the treaty. They are India, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, Egypt, the United States, North Korea and China.

Indonesia was the 36th country to ratify the treaty early last December.

"We continuously encourage the countries or parties that have not ratified the treaty to do so immediately so that it will have legal and binding force," he said.

Indonesia earlier postponed a plan to ratify the treaty until nuclear weapon states had ratified it first.

Minister Marty Natalegawa said a world which is free from nuclear testing would encourage global peace.

Only by abolishing nuclear tests without conditions and double standards could the guarantee of a no nuclear weapons treaty be achieved, Marty said some time ago.

Indonesia`s decision to ratify the treaty is expected to inspire other countries in Southeast Asia to follow suit to make the region free from nuclear testing.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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