February 2019 Global Dialogue

NTI convened the 9th meeting of the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities in Paris on February 10-12. The meeting was attended by government officials from 21 countries, representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), as well as industry and non-governmental experts from around the world.

The meeting addressed three topics:

• First, the meeting discussed the role of the IAEA in nuclear security and how to further strengthen its role. The discussion was aided by a paper by Dr. Trevor Findlay of the University of Melbourne, as well as presentations from Valérie Derouet of EDF and Raja Adnan, the Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Security.
• Second, the group discussed the preparatory process for the upcoming Review Conference of the Amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM), which will be held in 2021. The group discussed the objectives and potential outcomes of the Review Conference to help build a strong, effective, and sustainable CPPNM regime. This discussion was aided by an NTI discussion paper, as well as presentations from NTI’s Samantha Neakrase, Dr. Rob Floyd of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office, Janneke Vrijland of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Raja Adnan of the IAEA.
• Finally, the meeting addressed political challenges to nuclear security, including the need to regain high-level political attention on nuclear security and how to create a stronger narrative on the importance of nuclear security and its benefit in sustaining peaceful use of nuclear technology. Ambassador Leena Al-Hadid, Jordan’s representative in Vienna, and Angelica Liao-Moroz of Global Affairs Canada provided remarks.