Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that it has donated $10 million to launch a specialized center to combat nuclear terrorism, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The center will be established at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Vienna, capital of Austria, according to Dr. Hashim Bin Abdullah Yamani, president of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and the head of the Saudi delegation to the Nuclear Security Summit. The Kingdom also donated €500,000 for the modernization project of the IAEA laboratories, in Seibersdorf, on the outskirts of Vienna. The Kingdom was among the first countries that supported the international resolutions related to nuclear security and paid special attention to the issue of infrastructure development for nuclear security, Yamani said while addressing the summit. The Kingdom was one of the first countries that supported international resolutions related to nuclear security and it has ratified the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials. It also supported the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism as a party of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, he said. Dr. Yamani stressed that the Kingdom has been effectively and positively represented in most international forums and activities related to nuclear security, since the first summit in Washington in 2010, saying that the Kingdom gives special attention to the issue of infrastructure of nuclear security development through the realization of integration between nuclear safety and nuclear security. The Kingdom is continuing to activate the strategic partnership agreement between King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, in Finland, as a strategic partner to provide technical support, necessary knowledge and experience for organizing the Saudi atomic energy sector and providing it with necessary training of human resources, in order to establish an independent national authority for nuclear regulation. He said that the Kingdom, in the international context, has provided and will continue to provide full support to all international activities, in the field of nuclear security, pointing out that the Kingdom had in 2014 announced a donation of $100 million for the establishment of the United Nations counter-terrorism center. Dr. Yamani emphasized the great attention given by the Kingdom for the pivotal role played by IAEA in the field of nuclear security. "Saudi Arabia calls on all countries to support and enhance technical and human resources of the IAEA through the establishment of a specialized center to combat nuclear terrorism, at the agency's headquarters in Vienna. In this regard, we would like to announce Saudi Arabia's donation of $ 10 million for the establishment of such a center, as well as a donation of € 500,000 for the modernization project of the IAEA laboratories, in Seibersdorf, Austria," he added.
