International Conference on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking:Collective Experience and the Way ForwardEdinburgh, United Kingdom19-22 November, 2007

Three hundred experts from 60 countries and international organizations attended the International Conference on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking: Collective Experience and the Way Forward, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom. The Conference sought to identify the achievements of national and international programs in tackling illicit nuclear trafficking, and to note the challenges faced by the international community.
Three hundred experts from 60 countries and international organizations attended the International Conference on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking: Collective Experience and the Way Forward, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom. The Conference sought to identify the achievements of national and international programs in tackling illicit nuclear trafficking, and to note the challenges faced by the international community.

ISTC presented a Paper to the Conference: ‘The ISTC Contribution to the Global Challenge of Illicit Trafficking of Fissile Material: Unique Technical Solutions from Russia/ Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Aiming at Nonproliferation’.The Paper outlined the role of ISTC in promoting global security and profiled the internationally supported projects that are managed through the Center. Official delegations from Russia (led by the Russian Government Ministry, Rosatom) and other countries of the CIS (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan) were present at the Conference and noted ISTC global security projects underway on their territories. Two companies from Minsk (Belarus) and one from Dubna (Russia), demonstrated their technological products and services in this field. On the last day of the technological session, results of an ISTC project on the design of a pulsed neutron device to identify fissile materials in luggage were presented, with research carried out by Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI, http://www.mephi.ru/, jointly with VNIIA - All-Russian Research Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Operation, and NIIIT – The Russian Institute for Pulse Techniques).

The Conference concluded by stressing the importance of international cooperation to face global security challenges, highlighting the importance of international exchange of information, establishing better practices (especially in assisting developing countries), and R&D projects in this vital area.

Picture: Vadim Romodanov, project manager from MEPhI (left) and Jose Ignacio PRADAS-POVEDA, EU Partner Promotion Program Manager in ISTC


For further information about ISTC Global Security program, contact Oksana Valerievna Wol’f, Senior Project Manager in Global Security & Strategic Planning Department.