February 9, 2009
 
Dear Judge Weeramantry,
 
It was an honour to receive your letter of 25 November 2008, in which you reflect on my address to the EastWest Institute Conference on 24 October 2008, entitled "Seizing the Moment: Breakthrough Measures to Build a New East West Consensus on Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disarmament".
 
I highly appreciate your positive comments on the statement, especially in connection with the five-point proposal I put forward, and your commitment to disseminating it widely. I sincerely hope that these proposals will help to promote a broader understanding of the role that the United Nations can play in the pursuit of a world free from the dangers of nuclear weapons and to create momentum for progress on this front.
 
I also appreciate learning of the parallels between my proposals and the consistent and energetic pursuit of nuclear disarmament initiatives by the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms, of which you are President. Let me seize the occasion to wish the Association, and yourself, much good fortune in the coming year.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Ban Ki-moon