Abdullah bin Zayed leads UAE delegation for Nuclear Security Summit in Washington

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has led UAE delegation at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in 2016, which started yesterday.

The two-day event witnesses the participation of 52 countries across the world, representatives of four international organisations including the United Nations (UN), International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and European Union (EU).

The participant leaders exchange views on nuclear terrorism threats, ways of continuous international co-operation and reviewing results to enhance nuclear security.

This summit represents the last summit, within a series of nuclear security summits, with its current form where it is expected that the leaders will adopt a final communique and action plans of the participating countries to promote the work of competent international organisations in the nuclear security field such as the International Atomic Energy Agency in a manner that ensures the continuation of international efforts in the field of nuclear security and to maintain the gains achieved by Summit.

The UAE delegation included Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States of America and Hamad Ali Al Kaabi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the IAEA.

The Nuclear Security Summit 2016 will continue to provide a forum for leaders to engage with each other and reinforce our commitment at the highest levels to securing nuclear materials.

The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington, DC in 2010, and was followed by additional Summits in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014. These Summits have achieved tangible improvements in the security of nuclear materials and stronger international institutions that support nuclear security.

The UAE government is a party to all relevant international nuclear security conventions and is keen to fulfil all its commitments in the framework of its membership in these conventions.

The UAE is also an active and effective member in a number of related nuclear security and international initiatives and has been keen to adopting the necessary legal procedures that are consistent with its international obligations and commitments in this area.

The UAE co-operates closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the nuclear security field through a variety of activities. The country signed Integrated Support Plan the agency in the field of nuclear security.

The UAE has also developed a strict system to monitor and control the export and supply of nuclear materials and in line with its commitments and obligations, including the those provided for in UN Security Council resolution No.1540.

Since the previous summit, in 2014 in The Hague, the UAE has developed two new regulatory guides for the secure transport of nuclear material. It will also host an IAEA team this year to review the physical protection system of the country’s nuclear power plant.? Although the summit is the last of its kind, ministerial meetings at the IAEA will continue to be held every few years.

UAE, through the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, has worked to develop an integrated legislative framework to strengthen the security of radioactive sources used in the country and in line with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) terms in the Code of Conduct Charter on the safety and security of radioactive sources, adopted officially by the UAE in 2013.

The UAE has contributed to the field of information exchange and regional co-operation in the nuclear security by hosting and contributing to organising a number of major events held in the UAE and the region. It also hosted a regional training programme in the nuclear forensics field in the UAE in addition to IAEA's workshops, such as those that were held pertaining to security and transport of nuclear materials and information security at nuclear facilities.

In a related context, the UAE has provided one US $ million for the enhancement and modernisation of IAEA laboratory. It also launched multiple programmes for capacity building including the Gulf Institute for infrastructure in the field of nuclear energy, which is hosted by the Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi.

On the other hand, the UAE signed nine bilateral agreements on nuclear co-operation including nuclear security in addition to a number of Memoranda of understanding between Emirati bodies and institutions of UAE and their international counterparts.

Source:WAM