Vietnam always places top priority to safety and security as it employs nuclear energy, PM Nguyen Tan Dung remarked at the first plenary of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC.
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| The first plenary of the Nuclear Security Summit, Washington DC, April 13, 2010 – Photo: VGP | |
World safer after nuclear summit, Obama say US President Barack Obama declared the world safer Tuesday after a 47-nation summit agreed to a four-year deadline to lock down loose nuclear materials to prevent them from falling into militant hands. "Because of the steps we've taken the American people will be safer and the world will be more secure," Obama said at the end of the summit in Washington. The unprecedented gathering met a challenge laid down by Obama, who said the world was littered with poorly guarded fissile material and that a nuclear-armed militant group could threaten global "catastrophe." "We welcome and join President Obama's call to secure all vulnerable nuclear material in four years, as we work together to enhance nuclear security," the leaders said in a joint communique. Several countries including Ukraine, Mexico and Canada declared their intention to give up highly-enriched uranium at the summit. Russia and the United States signed a protocol to get rid of 34 tons of plutonium each, equivalent to 17,000 weapons. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the summit as a "full success" as Moscow announced plans to shut down its last weapons-grade plutonium reactor. Obama welcomed the move, calling the closure of the Soviet-era site in Siberia an "important step" for bolstering nuclear security. On what are commonly referred to as loose nukes, the US leader pressed his guests "not simply to talk, but to act," the US president said. "Nuclear materials that could be sold or stolen and fashioned into a nuclear weapon exist in dozens of nations." He said Al-Qaeda had tried to obtain a nuclear bomb, and that radioactive material as small as an apple was enough to kill thousands of people. "It would be a catastrophe for the world -- causing extraordinary loss of life, and striking a major blow at global peace and stability." The summit leaders agreed in their communique to non-binding, only partly defined measures to combat nuclear trafficking, including sharing information and detection, forensics and law enforcement expertise. The leaders said they "recognize the need for cooperation among states to effectively prevent and respond to incidents of illicit nuclear trafficking." But increased security must "not infringe upon the rights of states to develop and utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and technology," summit participants said. A manual on securing stocks of separated plutonium and weapons grade uranium, as well as advice on how to dispose of the dangerous materials, was issued at the end of the summit. However, all the steps are voluntary and the plan for accomplishing the four-year plan remains sketchy. - AFP | DT |
Mr Dung delivered this message at the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in the US, which brought together the heads of 47 nations, the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Union (EU).
PM Dung said that Vietnamese law sets out regulations on ensuring nuclear safety and security and prohibits the illegal trading of materials that are used to produce weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
Vietnam, he said, has already drawn up an action plan and has taken a host of measures to accomplish these targets, adding that Vietnam actively joins international conventions and participates in counter-terrorism activities both bilaterally and multilaterally.
To enhance the efficiency of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, the Vietnamese leader urged the international community to lend more support to nations that need to deploy measures to combat terrorism, ensure nuclear security and implement the previously agreed international treaties.
Vietnam makes safety top priority in nuclear energy
Vietnam gives top priority to safety and security in developing the application of nuclear energy. Consequently, Vietnam has actively built and completed a legal basis and a management agency system on control, safety and security in using nuclear materials and radioactive substances, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.
In his speech, the PM stressed Vietnam’s strong support and contributions to international efforts on disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, combating terrorism in all forms and promoting the use of safe, secure nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and for the sake of nations.
Vietnam has welcomed the recent signing of the strategic arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, PM Dung said, describing the event as an important step in the common effort towards a nuclear weapon-free world.
He noted that Vietnam has joined a number of important international treaties related to the issue, and affirmed the Vietnamese Government’s decision to participate in the nuclear safety treaty and back the global initiative against nuclear terrorism.
As ASEAN Chair in 2010, Vietnam has actively made contributions to building a prosperous and nuclear weapon-free South East Asian region, the PM said.
The country’s awareness and responsibility are also shown in its involvement in a series of international programmes and initiatives. These include cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the US and Russia on converting highly-enriched uranium into usable nuclear fuel at a research reactor, and cooperation with the European Union, Japan and the US in the use of radiation detecting equipment at seaports in Vietnam.
As a nation accelerating its application of nuclear energy and beginning a nuclear electricity programme, Vietnam is willing to expand international cooperation in the area, the PM said, adding that the country signed bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements with Russia, China, France, India, the Republic of Korea, and Argentina in line with a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the US.
Mr Dung affirmed Vietnam’s support for orientations and overall measures in the summit’s draft documents, including enhancement of the effectiveness of available treaties, mechanisms, international organisations, the responsibilities of nations, and the involvement of nuclear industries in each country.
The PM also stressed the need to respond to the concerns of developing countries regarding the safe, secure and effective application of nuclear energy by creating necessary conditions for the IAEA’s operations.
Mr Dung took this opportunity to thank the international community and express the wish to continue cooperating with it in the application of nuclear energy for the benefit of peace and development.
