on the occasion of this meeting, especially with the prospect of the conference to be convened by the States parties, in 1995, to decide, 25 years after its entry into force, on the future of the Treaty itself, all the provisions of which we apply. We shall, for our part, continue to work for the achievement of the broadest possible consensus in favour of an equitable and stable non-proliferation regime based, in particular, on the indispensable balance between non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the development of civilian applications of the atom. Leaving the field of nuclear matters, I now come to outer space. The turn taken this year by the debates in the Ad hoc Committee on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, chaired efficiently by Ambassador Shannon of Canada, is altogether encouraging. Of course, we, like many others, found it regrettable that in the spring a sterile procedural debate should have delayed unduly the beginning of the substantive work. We hope, however, that lessons have been drawn from that for the future. With respect to substance, we note with interest that the Ad hoc Committee continued and developed its efforts to increase mutual understanding of the positions of its members and of the various technical or strategic aspects of the question. The Committee heard an unprecedented number of presentations by experts from delegations from all the groups in the Conference. Those contributions have brought out a number of useful pointers for the future of our work. The first is that, on the subject of preventing an arms race in space, one has to beware of Manichaean simplifications and hasty constructions. Thus, before elaborating legal rules, for example on the prohibition or limitation of anti-satellite weapons, it is essential to undertake a precise 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a speech or statement from a government representative or diplomat, discussing international agreements and treaties related to nuclear proliferation and outer space. The language used is formal and diplomatic, indicating a focus on international relations and policy. The text does not mention economic development, natural resources, or environmental issues, but rather focuses on international cooperation and the development of legal frameworks.

**Category**
Science and technology, International relations