Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah II on Thursday attended a dinner banquet, hosted by US President Barack Obama in honour of heads of states and delegations attending the 4th Nuclear Security Summit.

During the event, King Abdullah delivered a speech in which he praised the US president for taking the initiative and hosting such a key summit. Further, the King voiced hope this important process will continue in a sustainable manner and "build an enduring architecture to further our achievements and the good work that is being done".

His Majest added that the threat level is high, noting that "we have a high risk of nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological proliferation in the Middle East". The state of chaos in the region, he noted, has increased the risk of moving these materials and technologies to non-state actors that are becoming more sophisticated, including in developing their own delivery systems.

The worst-case scenario would be an attempt to smuggle nuclear or radiological material by terrorists and spread terror, King Abdullah warned, adding that recent attempts to smuggle radioactive material, including Cesium-137 and Uranium within Europe reinforces that scenario.

In his speech, the King said that the interlinked threats of criminal acts, drug and human trafficking and the financing of terrorism are yet another issue facing the international community. This, he added, was a global challenge; therefore the importance of working together has never been more acute.

"As I have mentioned at previous conferences, we have to be pre-emptive, we need real-time intelligence sharing; as well as working together in capacity building at the national, regional and global levels; we also need to cooperate and share vital technologies," His Majesty said.

In the Levant, Jordan is the first line of defence against trafficking of arms, narcotics, and counterfeits in the region and beyond, the King noted, while adding that the Kingdom "will present our Gift Basket on Countering Nuclear Smuggling, with 39 co-sponsors". Highlighting the importance of the initiative, the King said it was important as consolidating our border security is of paramount importance for the security of Jordan and the globe.

Jordan, he added, will remain actively engaged in the summit contact group and continue the build-up of the Interagency Counter Nuclear Smuggling Team.

The King concluded his remarks by saying that "the stakes have never been higher, and the challenges are profound, but together we will prevail".

The US president and other heads of states and delegations also delivered speeches in which they highlighted their countries' stance towards various international issues, at the foremost of which were maintaining nuclear security and taking the needed action to prevent the proliferation of nuclear materials.