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OTTAWA, July 13, 2011  —  An ongoing dialogue known as the Ottawa Dialogue has resulted in the adoption of an ambitious list of nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs). The Ottawa Dialogue is a distinguished group of academics and retired senior officials and military officers from India and Pakistan. It is led by Peter Jones, a professor from the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. 

The list of recommended CBMs was adopted at a meeting at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution in Palo Alto, California, from July 6 to 8, 2011. The meeting was hosted by former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz. Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and former secretary of defence William Perry also participated in a number of the discussions.

The list includes CBMs that could be implemented to prevent an accidental launch of nuclear weapons and prevent the escalation of conflicts. Download a complete list of CBMs.

The members of the Ottawa Dialogue who signed the list were pleased that high-level official talks on nuclear confidence-building had resumed between India and Pakistan. They have put forth these recommendations in the hopes of assisting the official process.

The sponsors of the Ottawa Dialogue are the following:

• The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies at the U.S. Department of Defense/National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
• The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
• The United States Institute of Peace
• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• The Hoover Institution (which hosted the most recent meeting)

For further information on the Ottawa Dialogue, please contact Peter Jones: Peter.Jones@uOttawa.ca