Islamabad, May 22 (UNI) Pakistan and Russia signed a joint statement on 'No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space' on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said in the capital Islamabad.

A joint statement was signed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Xinhua reported.

"Pakistan and Russia share a common position on the prevention of arms race in outer space and work collectively in various international fora towards that goal. The signing of today's Joint Statement on No First Placement of Weapons in outer space is a reflection of convergence of views between the two sides," a Pakistan Foreign Ministry statement said.

Both sides declared that they will not in any way be the first to place weapons of any kind in outer space, that they will make all possible efforts to prevent outer space from becoming an arena for military confrontation and to ensure security in outer space activities.

It said Pakistan and Russia have reiterated their commitment to refraining from the threat or use of force in Outer Space activities, adding both encourage other responsible space-faring nations to follow this example.

The Foreign Ministry further said Pakistan has been consistently highlighting the risks of weaponisation of Outer Space, which threaten the long term sustainability of peaceful space activities.

"The use of force against space-based objects, the development and deployment of Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) systems and their integration into space assets have added worrying dimensions to the issues relating to outer space," it added.

The statement said there is an urgent need to address gaps in the international legal regime governing the exploration and use of outer space with a view to ensuring that no one threatens peaceful activities and applications of space technologies for socio-economic development.

The two countries said they believe that outer space should be used in compliance with international law for the benefit of all nations, regardless of the level of their economic, scientific or technological development.

UNI XC-RHK2329