The Philippines on Monday joined the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP) as its 26th member-nation.
GP is a subsidiary body of the G8, which addresses nuclear and radiological security, biosecurity, chemical security, and scientist engagement, as well as facilitates the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540 through cooperative projects.
The Global Partnership began at the 2002 Kananaskis G8 Summit as a 10-year, $20 billion initiative to prevent terrorists or states that support them from acquiring or developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Since then, the Global Partnership has allocated more than $21 billion worldwide to enhance WMD security. The efforts include locking down vulnerable weapons and materials, destroying Russian nuclear submarines and chemical weapons, export controls, and engaging with scientists and other technical experts with knowledge and experience dealing with these items. At the 2011 G8 Summit in Deauville, leaders agreed to extend the GP beyond 2012 and to make it truly global.
The U.S. State Department in a statement said the Philippines' membership marks an important expansion of Southeast Asian representation in the GP, and an important step in the progress to make it a truly global group of countries.
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