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Mohammed bin Zayed: Nuclear terrorism is most important challenge

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince emphasises the importance of common approach and collective will for nuclear safety.

General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has emphasised the importance of international meetings on nuclear security in order to consider relevant measures and in order for the members and institutions of the international community to exchange points of views on the best ways of creating a world ruled by security and stability.

In a statement on the occasion of leading the UAE delegation to the Nuclear Security Summit 2014, General Shaikh Mohammed said: “Terrorism in general, and nuclear terrorism in particular, represent the most important challenges facing the world today, which requires our diligent joint action in order to be able to ward off all forms of this threat.”

He emphasised that the current changes and challenges demand the urgent formulation of common approaches and a collective will in the face of the threats and dangers, nuclear terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in particular, affecting the security and stability of states and the safety of their peoples.

The international community cannot afford the divisions about what should be done and it has to do its best to support and empower the relevant international organisations and bodies and to boost their capabilities for reducing the possession of nuclear weapons, enable the success of endeavours to prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism, as slackening on this would be catastrophic and would cost us all dear,

“International cooperation on nuclear security today has an increasing international importance as challenges grow and dictate to us the need for strengthening the relevant tools and frameworks in order to allow for the exchange of expertise and contributions to develop the required global infrastructure and human resources so as to guarantee the highest nuclear security in all countries,” General Shaikh Mohamed added.

The responsibility for nuclear security remains a national one and includes the necessary measures to protect nuclear and radioactive material from terrorism, he explained noting the important of ensuring the effectiveness of these measures in a transparent way through continuous assessment and reviewing in order to build the required confidence, he said.

Speaking on the achievements of the series of nuclear security summits, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi said: “The UAE has taken an active part in the security summits since 2010. These international meetings have made a number of achievements including the highlighting of the challenges posed by nuclear terrorism which have forced many states to take measures to secure nuclear and radioactive material against the danger of terrorism.”

He further emphasised the importance of preserving these achievements through greater cooperation between international parties and international organisations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in particular.

“The UAE under the leadership of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has adopted the approach of cooperation, understanding and dialogue between nations as well as solving conflict through peaceful means. It opposes any military nuclear aspirations and any proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East and the whole world, and it supports all that serves the development of peoples and their interests,” General Shaikh Mohammed said.

He emphasised that the UAE works closely with the IAEA as an active member of a number of relevant international initiatives. He further expressed the UAE’s keen interest in forging close partnerships with all international organisations and bodies, in cooperating on a continuous basis with all international endeavours as well as in backing all initiatives aimed at bolstering capabilities to combat nuclear terrorism and prevent WMD proliferation.

This, he noted, reflected the UAE’s commitment, as part of its general policy, to playing a vital role in pushing international efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation, and to harness the resources to achieve international security and stability in harmony with the UAE’s plans to develop its peaceful nuclear programme in a transparent way that adopts the highest standards for nuclear security, safety and non-proliferation.