A major nuclear summit in Washington ended Tuesday with the 47 nations who attended pledging to secure the world's most vulnerable supplies of nuclear material over the next four years.
In so doing, they hope to minimize the chances of a terrorist group perpetrating a nuclear catastrophe.
"Nuclear terrorism is one of the most challenging threats to international security and strong nuclear security measures the most effective means to prevent terrorist criminals or other unauthorized actors from acquiring nuclear materials," governments at the meeting said in a written communique issued Tuesday evening.
The statement said international co-operation is needed to prevent smuggling of nuclear material. Countries must share information "in areas such as nuclear detection, forensics, law enforcement and the development of new technologies," to promote nuclear non-proliferation.
Earlier in the day, U.S. President Barack Obama told the conference that the risk of a nuclear attack has increased. The president said the danger comes from terrorism, not an attack from an enemy nation.
He said that the rise of the risk of a nuclear attack coming after the end of the Cold War was a "cruel irony of history."
"The risk of a nuclear attack has gone up," Obama said, adding terror groups like Al Qaeda are trying to get their hands on nuclear material.
The U.S. president says it's his goal to lock down all nuclear material worldwide within four years.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is giving the U.S. administration a helping hand in its push to make the world's enriched uranium supplies more secure.
Canada will "help fund the return of highly enriched nuclear material from Mexico to the United States, as well as the conversion of Mexico's research reactor to low-enriched uranium," Harper said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Harper also announced on Monday afternoon that Canada would send weapons-grade uranium south of the border for safe keeping in the United States.
It's an example that observers say is designed to encourage other countries to follow suit.
One country that also pledged to give up its weapons-grade fuel was Ukraine, which said it would rid itself of its reserves by 2012. White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said the material would be sent to either Russia or the U.S., though the all of the specifics have not yet been worked out.
Hundreds of kilograms of the highly-enriched material are currently at the Chalk River Laboratories near Ottawa, where it has been used for medical research. It has all been imported from the U.S. over the past two decades for use in the isotope-producing reactor which is currently offline.
It will take about eight years to move all of the Canadian-stored uranium to the U.S. The U.S. Department of Energy will then convert the uranium to a form that will render it useless for weapons purposes.
A Canadian government official told The Canadian Press that the U.S. turned down the opportunity to take the uranium for the past 15 years. But recent security concerns have prompted Washington officials to change their position on the issue.
Keeping uranium away from terrorists
Harper said Monday the overriding goal is to keep the materials out of the hands of people who would use them for the wrong reasons.
"Canada is actively participating in international efforts to help ensure that nuclear weapons materials do not fall into the hands of terrorists," Harper said in a statement.
"This project will return highly enriched uranium spent fuel inventories to the U.S. and will result in significant cost savings to Canada over time."
While he said that the material was not a security threat in Canada, Harper said it was something that the country has no need to hold onto -- a position he suggested many other countries are in as well.
"While all this material is obviously highly secure in Canada ... it's our view that the best thing for all countries to do, not just ourselves, is to return such material to their countries of origin, and so we want to encourage others to do that as well," said Harper.
Obama's progress
Meanwhile, the White House made in-roads with China on Monday, after U.S. President Barack Obama sat down with Chinese President Hu Jintao. China said it would work with the U.S. on possible sanctions against Iran, a country that has long raised concerns in the global community about its nuclear ambitions.
While Jiang Yu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said China supports a "dual-track strategy" involving diplomacy and the threat of possible sanctions, she also said the country believes "dialogue and negotiation are the best way out for the issue."
"Pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve it," she said in Beijing on Tuesday.
Back in Washington, White House national security aide Jeff Bader said China was "prepared to work with us" on the Iranian issue.
Representatives from countries such as Israel, Pakistan and India -- three countries that have abstained from signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty -- attended the summit.
Pakistan's nuclear stockpile is considered by some experts to be at risk, though Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani insists his country's weapons are well-guarded.
With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
