Indonesia's foreign minister Tuesday said his country will soon ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) adding that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama's moves towards disarmament was a key factor in making its decision. Until now, Indonesia had withheld ratifying the treaty saying that the nuclear-armed states should first ratify it. "We have seen serious effort on the part of the United States administration to truly take the disbarment agenda forward," Marty Natalegawa said at U.N. headquarters where he is attending the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. The treaty bans nuclear tests in the atmosphere to prevent radioactive fallout on the earth. The treaty has been signed by 182 countries, of which 151 have ratified by adopting national laws to implement the treaty. But the treaty demands that the world's 44 countries with nuclear technology must all ratify before it enters into force. Of the 44, nine have not yet ratified, including Indonesia. The other eight are China, North Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the U.S.
