Kazakhstan, Astana, Sept. 28 / Trend S.Suleymanov /
Astana is today hosting the "Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism" (GICNT) international conference to counter the financing of terrorism and the first meeting of the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG), the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. The events are held upon the initiative of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
"The event will be attended by over 150 representatives of the GICNT participating countries, co-chairs of the initiative - the United States and Russia - international organizations and observers," the ministry said. At the event, Kazakhstan will be represented by officials of the Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry, the National Security Committee and other state departments.
The Astana conference on countering terrorism financing is organized jointly with Australia.
"The conference will focus on improving the national systems to combat terrorist financing and the role of legislative bodies, as well as exchange information to prevent the illegal proliferation of nuclear materials," the ministry said.
The most recent plenary meeting in Abu Dhabi resulted in several changes to the GICNT. The partnership adopted a revised Terms of Reference, activated an Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG), selected Spain as the Coordinator for the IAG, and selected the U.S. and Russia to continue serving as co-chairs.
The presidents of the United States and Russia jointly announced the organization of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in 2006. The GICNT is a voluntary initiative aimed at fostering international cooperation in order to prevent terrorists from acquiring, transporting, or using nuclear materials or radioactive substances, to deter hostile actions against nuclear facilities, and to respond to incidents involving the use of radiological or nuclear materials. GICNT participants work to unite experience and expertise from the nonproliferation, counter-proliferation, and counter-terrorism fields; strengthen global activities and institutions through integration of collective capabilities and resources; and maintain a network for partners to share information and expertise in a legally non-binding capacity. To date, the GICNT has 82 member-countries.
Kazakhstan, which has voluntarily given up the fourth most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world, is considering a new initiative as an effective step to combat nuclear terrorism.