Kuniko Inoguchi, Japanese ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, will assume the presidency of the group Monday.
Succeeding Carlo Trezza of Italy, Inoguchi will chair plenary sessions of the third and final parts of the 2003 session of the CD. The current session of the CD, a Geneva-based disarmament negotiating forum with 66 member states, kicked off July 28 and ends Sept. 10.
During the session, Inoguchi, an international relations expert, will try to guide the CD into negotiations on a "cutoff" treaty to ban production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons and other explosive devices. Talks on such a treaty have been stalled due to conflict between the United States and China.
Inoguchi is expected to hold consultations so that the CD can adopt a working plan for the negotiations by January.