Jordan, US sign deal to prevent nuclear smuggling

WASHINGTON — Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday signed a Joint Action Plan to improve efforts against nuclear and radiological smuggling.

The “Joint Action Plan Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Combating Smuggling of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials”, which was signed on the sidelines of His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to the US, aims at enhancing Jordan’s capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear smuggling incidents.

According to a US Department of State statement, the plan is part of the Jordanian-American partnership to combat nuclear terrorism. “To advance that goal, the newly signed plan includes steps to foster cooperation among Jordan’s domestic agencies, and review and strengthen relevant laws.”

The plan is the 14th such arrangement the State Department has concluded worldwide, the statement said.

Jordan has been a strong leader on international efforts to counter nuclear smuggling. During the 2012 and 2014 Nuclear Security Summits, the Kingdom presented a Statement of Activity and Cooperation to Counter Nuclear Smuggling, signed by as many as 20 countries. In support of the commitments outlined in that statement, Jordan has over the past two years hosted two multilateral counter-nuclear smuggling workshops.