Pristina, 25 May 2017
The Kosovo Agency for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the United States Department of Energy, which aims to detect and prevent the illicit trafficking of special nuclear materials and other radioactive materials.
The institutions responsible for the implementation of the memorandum will be the US Nuclear Security Administration and the Kosovo Police.
Beqir Mezelxhiu, Chief of the Agency, said that the purpose of this memorandum is to establish a high level of nuclear safety and that Kosovo meets international obligations in detecting and preventing the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials.
“The United States Nuclear Security Administration will through the Memorandum provide Kosovo Police with technical and methodological cooperation, including assembling and upgrading the technical systems for detecting and identifying these materials at the Kosovo border checkpoints”, said Mezelxhiu, announcing that Kosovo is not part of bilateral treaties in the field of Nuclear Security and therefore unilaterally assumed the responsibility to fulfil all its international obligations.
Rick Clarke, representative of the US Department of Energy, said the memorandum highlights further co-operation between the US and Kosovo.
This memorandum, according to him, assists the Kosovo Police to detect and prevent the illicit trafficking of special nuclear materials and other radioactive materials through technical and methodological cooperation, including assembling and improving the technical systems for detecting and identifying this material at the points of border control of the Republic of Kosovo.
Kosovo Police will have these devices available very soon.
Last modified: 25 Maj, 2017