US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller voiced her country's keenness on working with Egypt and other countries to render the Middle East region free of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

In statements to foreign reporters ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), due to open in Washington on Thursday, the US official said that Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri, who is currently visiting Washington to attend the summit, has a great interest in this issue.

There is a hard work to be done to hold the summit and begin the process of establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, she added.

For her part, Laura S. H. Holgate, the Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism and Threat Reduction, said that the current civilian and military nuclear programs involved nearly 2,000 metric tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium that are used in manufacturing nuclear weapons. 

She further warned that terrorists have the ability to convert these materials into nuclear weapons if they have access to it. 

Launched by US President Barack Obama in Prague in 2009, the Nuclear Security Summit process will conclude with the fourth Summit from March 31 to April 1, 2016 in Washington, D.C. 

The two-day summit will convene delegations from more than 50 nations that will continue discussion on the evolving threat and highlight steps that can be taken together to minimise the use of highly-enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism, the White House said.

Source: MENA