Islamabad, 21 December 2021 (TDI): Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Senator Marise Payne announced the appointment of Dr. Geoffrey Shaw as Director-General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation (ASNO) Office with the collaboration of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Dr. Geoffrey has been serving as the High Commissioner of Australia to Pakistan. At his new designation, he will be working on domestic and international actions to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In a tweet, the Australian High Commissioner shared the news whilst expressing gratitude to Pakistan for the hospitality he was shown.

Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office

Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office (ASNO) works with the aim to enhance Australian as well as international security through actions that can contribute to efficacious regimes against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

The ASNO links the following Australian agencies that were established under the Commonwealth legislation:

  • The Australian Safeguards Office (ASO)
  • The Chemical Weapons Convention Office (CWCO)
  • The Australian Comprehensive Test Ban Office (ACTBO)
Policies and Activities of Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office

The policies and activities of the ASNO include the Uranium Export Policy of Australia, Australia’s Network of Nuclear Cooperation Agreements, Nuclear Security, along with the Asia-Pacific Safeguards Network.

The Director-General (DG), Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) assumes the statutory responsibilities of the Director of Safeguards, Director, Australian Comprehensive Test Ban Office (ACTBO), as well as the Director of Chemical Weapons Convention Office (CWCO).

Furthermore, the Director-General directly reports to the Minister responsible. The responsible minister has been the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia since 1994.

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