Jordan to present nuclear summit with 'gift basket' coordinated with 39 sponsors

AMMAN – His Majesty King Abdullah said in Washington DC on Thursday that Jordan was ready to present a nuclear summit slated for Friday "our Gift Basket on Countering Nuclear Smuggling, with 39 co-sponsors."

"Our initiative is important as consolidating our border security is of paramount importance for the security of Jordan and the globe," the King said in his remarks at a dinner held by US President Barack Obama in honour of heads of delegations taking part in the summit.

"We will remain actively engaged in the summit contact group and continue the build-up of our Interagency Counter Nuclear Smuggling Team," he added.

In the Levant, he said, Jordan is the first line of defence against trafficking of arms, narcotics, and counterfeits in the region and beyond.

Commending President Obama for taking the lead on "such an important and current issue", His Majesty told the gathering that "we hope this important process will continue in a sustainable manner and build an enduring architecture to further our achievements and the good work that is being done".

He warned that the "threat level is high: We have a high risk of nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological proliferation in the Middle East."

He explained that the state of chaos in the Middle East region has increased the risk of moving these materials and technologies to non-state actors that are becoming more sophisticated, including in developing their own delivery systems.

"Our worst-case scenario would be an attempt to smuggle nuclear or radiological material by terrorists and spread terror," he warned, adding that recent attempts to smuggle radioactive material, including Cesium-137 and Uranium within Europe, reinforce that scenario.

The interlinked threats of criminal acts, drug and human trafficking and the financing of terrorism are yet another issue facing the international community, the King said, noting that this is a "global challenge; therefore the importance of working together has never been more acute."

He told his audience: "As I have mentioned at previous conferences, we have to be pre-emptive, we need real-time intelligence sharing; as well as working together in capacity building at the national, regional and global levels; we also need to cooperate and share vital technologies."