United States and Kazakhstan cooperate against nuclear smuggling

As part of this cooperation, on February 16, 2012, officials from both countries met to discuss ways our countries can work together to prevent nuclear smuggling and to strengthen international and regional cooperation in order to investigate and prosecute persons and groups who attempt to engage in nuclear smuggling, the press service of the US Diplomatic Mission to Kazakhstan informs. 

In these discussions, the United States and Kazakhstan reaffirmed the need to prevent terrorists and other criminals from acquiring nuclear or radioactive material, and shared best practices for a coordinated and effective response to nuclear and radiological smuggling incidents.  In addition, both sides shared information on current global smuggling threats and trends in order to improve investigations and prosecutions of smugglers.  

To further enhance mutual efforts to counter nuclear smuggling, the United States and Kazakhstan discussed best practices in the areas of nuclear detection, nuclear forensics, law enforcement, development of new radiation detection technologies, and they identified areas for additional training and cooperation. Both sides also agreed to develop a regional training Center for countering nuclear threats in Kazakhstan, which would encompass existing cooperation on Material, Protection, Control and Accounting and develop further capacity in the area of countering nuclear smuggling.