All members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have thrown their weight behind the recent conclusion of nuclear negotiationsbetween Iran and the P5+1 over the Islamic Republics nuclear energy program.
The foreign ministers of the ASEAN countries, along with Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, in a joint statement released on Thursday, welcomed as an important resolution the finalization of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by Iran and the P5+1 Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on July 14.
The statement said that the agreement would ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program.
ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Senior diplomats and officials from Iran, the EU and the P5+1 attend a last plenary session at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria, July 14, 2015. ( AFP)[/caption]
Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Irans nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans, against the Islamic Republic.
The UN Security Council on July 20 unanimously endorsed a draft resolution turning the JCPOA into international law. All 15 members of the world body voted for the draft UN resolution in New York, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.
Many governments around the world have hailed the successful conclusion of the negotiations on Irans nuclear program as ahistoric achievement for the advocates of diplomacy.