On the 3rd of June, UNICRI held the virtual kick-off meeting for the CONTACT – Southeast Asia project, “Enhancing capacities to prevent the trafficking of radiological and nuclear material in the Southeast Asia region”.
Representatives from governments security entities, law enforcement agencies and nuclear regulatory authorities from Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Philippines and Viet Nam attended the meeting along with experts from international organizations such as the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The meeting represented an important opportunity to establish a platform of relevant stakeholders and discuss with partner countries the project concepts and objectives as well as its different work packages. Specific topics related to the upcoming coordination and implementation steps of the project were also examined.
Preventing threats through a safety and security culture, based on partnership and cooperation, information sharing, and transferring of promising practices and experiences is the main pillar of this new initiative based on countries‘ ownership and international cooperation.
CONTACT – Southeast Asia aims at enhancing capacities of nuclear security stakeholders in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Philippines, and Viet Nam to devise and carry out operations in order to thwart radiological and nuclear (RN) trafficking attempts, as well as to foster regional cooperation and communication among the four partner countries. The project is funded by Global Affairs Canada.
