Opening address

Recognizing the global danger of illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material, governments have in recent years taken a number of steps which includes the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), the 2005 Amendments to the CPPNM, the International Convention of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540. Perhaps more important than formal legal measures alone are the actions governments have initiated to institute practical cooperation in this field. Of course, the IAEA has been a leader in this effort, as reflected in the Nuclear Security Plan. Of the many areas where the IAEA has contributed, let me cite three: the development of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, the numerous efforts through technical assistance programmes to assess physical protection needs and to build national capacity to implement physical protection systems, and the collection and dissemination of information through the Illicit Trafficking Database. States are acting together to develop training and communications channels to facilitate intervention in an ongoing illicit transfer or to build national capacity to protect nuclear materials and respond to security threats. 60 nations have joined the Russian Federation and the USA as partners in the global initiative to Combat nuclear Terrorism. These visible forms of international cooperation are backed up by numerous bilateral assistance and cooperation programmes directed at improving physical protection, including during transport, consolidating and eliminating unused nuclear materials and radioactive sources, bolstering nuclear detection at ports and borders, strengthening the ability of law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute nuclear smuggling cases, developing procedures and protocols to intervene in emergency situations involving nuclear or radioactive materials, and exchanging information on nuclear terrorism threats. There is a need to continue and strengthen the multinational cooperation which involves active participation by both nuclear specialists and those with more general security and law enforcement laws. Furthermore priority has to be given to developing national capacity to evaluate security threats, ensure adequate physical protection and intervene in ongoing nuclear trafficking cases complemented by cooperation in the areas of forensic analysis of nuclear material and emergency response. Together with the Russian Federation the USA announce the completion of security upgrades at strategic weapons sites and agreement on measures to ensure the long term sustainability of physical protection improvements in the Russian Federation. The USA is also working to convert research reactors and return the high enriched uranium fuel fro locations around the world which might otherwise become a target for terrorists or thieves. In parallel with efforts to improve security at the source, the USA is building international cooperation to put in place nuclear detection at seaports, airports and land border crossings. Through collaboration with the Russian Federal Customs Service, all of the Russian Federation's official border crossings will be equipped with radiation detection equipment by 2011