IAEA hails results of nuclear security summit

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- As the nuclear security summit wound up on Tuesday, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) hailed the achievements made at the convention.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (4th R,front) poses for a group photo with other world  leaders during the Nuclear Security Summit at the Washington Convention Center in  Washington,April 13, 2010. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said at a post-summit press conference that representatives from 47 countries had an extensive discussion about the nuclear security issue and pledged wide and strong support for the IAEA's activities, which was a great achievement.

He noted that during the summit, some countries pledged more contribution to the IAEA which is in need of resources to implement its programs to provide information and advice as well as other assistance to its member states.

The director general warned that the threat of nuclear terrorism is real and immediate and the IAEA receives one new report every two days on average, informed of incidents involving illicit trafficking of nuclear or radiological materials.

Although the nuclear security summit has yielded a communique and a work plan on how to secure nuclear materials and facilities, Amano believes whether the goal can be fulfilled depends on how many efforts countries can actually make in this regard.