U.S. officials on Friday said that next week's Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama, is a show of “unprecedented” international cooperation on the issue of nuclear security. In a conference call with reporters just days before the two-day summit takes place, Ben Rhodes the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, said that the 47 countries participating in the summit shows a strong, international commitment to the issue of nuclear security. The goal of the meeting is to “rally collective action,” Rhodes said, adding that this is a “collective commitment.” The summit, which is made up primarily of several plenary sessions on Monday and Tuesday of next week, will also work to address how the solution for nuclear security is very country-specific, and is not the same for every participating nation. While there will be a “high-level communiqué” expected at the end of the summit, Obama and the leaders, most of which will be deputy, or foreign ministers of the participating countries, will host a working dinner on Monday evening to outline the goals of the summit, and to discuss the threat. Prior to the working meeting, Obama will host a series of bilateral meetings at the historic Blair House just feet from the White House. On Sunday evening, Obama will host Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, South African President Jacob Zuma, and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Gillani. Obama will also host meetings the next day at the convention center, where the summit will be held, with: Jordan's King Abdullah, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdul Razak, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, and Chinese President Hu Jintao.
