Nuclear Security Summit concludes in Washington

The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit concluded in US capital Washington DC on Friday evening where around 50 world leaders gathered to discuss efforts to prevent terrorist acquisition of nuclear materials.
In its final communique, the summit warned that the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism remains one of the greatest challenges to international security, and the threat is constantly evolving.
The leaders underlined the importance of the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment and the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and will continue to work toward their universalization and full implementation. They welcomed the imminent entry into force of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Facilities and encourage further ratifications.
The leaders also reaffirmed commitment to shared goals of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. They also reaffirmed that measures to strengthen nuclear security will not hamper the rights of States to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the communique said.
Meanwhile, the leaders underlined that more work remains to be done to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear and other radioactive materials, which could be used for malicious purposes. "We commit to fostering a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and strengthening nuclear security".
They pledged to continue to make nuclear security an enduring priority.
They underlined that countering nuclear and radiological terrorism demands international cooperation, including sharing of information in accordance with States’ national laws and procedures. International cooperation can contribute to a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable, and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all.
Speaking at the conclusion of the two-day Nuclear Security Summit, US President Barack Obama said that "significant and meaningful" progress has been made in the last six years in reducing and securing nuclear material around the world.
Obama noted that entire continent of South America was free of highly enriched nuclear material, with central Europe and south-east Asia soon to follow.
In a news conference following the summit, Obama called it a "remarkable achievement." More than a dozen countries have removed all of their highly enriched plutonium and uranium, Obama said. Japan is currently removing a half ton of highly enriched nuclear material, the largest such project in history.
Obama said that the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia - the largest possessors of nuclear arms in the world - are their smallest in six decades.
Much of the summit's second day was devoted to terrorism and the danger of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands. The global community amid current terrorist threats "simply cannot afford" not to share "critical intelligence," Obama said.
Earlier Friday, Obama met with leaders of the P5+1 group, which negotiated the Iran nuclear deal. He thanked all the nations who participated in bringing the agreement to fruition.

Source: QNA