UK Department of Trade & Industry: Agreement to strengthen security at Russian nuclear research centre

London, 11 March 2005

The UK Government today agreed a contract to undertake an upgrade of physical security at a key Russian Nuclear Research Centre. The contract, to be managed by experts from British Nuclear Group, will focus on the Nikiet Institute in the centre of Moscow. It is one of Russia's leading nuclear research centres. The project is worth up to £2 million and will focus on the provision of physical protection upgrades on fencing, lighting, CCTV and access control systems.

Trade and Industry Minister Nigel Griffiths commented: "This is the first major contract under the DTI Global Partnership Nuclear Security Programme. We believe this work will play a vital role in ensuring top level protection for nuclear materials which are based at the Nikiet Institute. Prevention of the proliferation of nuclear materials is one of this Government's highest international priorities, and this project represents a significant landmark in our cooperation with the Russian Federation to address this threat."

Welcoming the UK assistance, Nikiet Institute Director, Dr Gabaraev said: "We regard this as a vital step in improving security at the Institute. We are pleased to be able to work with UK experts in this area and look forward to successful project implementation."

Notes for editors

1. The UK Nuclear Security programme is part of the UK Global Partnership programme against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction agreed at the Kananaskis G8 summit in Canada in June 2002.

2. The Global Partnership program aims to support specific cooperation projects, initially in Russia, to address non-proliferation, disarmament, counter-terrorism and nuclear safety issues. The G8 Global Partnership 2004 Annual Report detailing non-proliferation programmes in the FSU was published in December 2004 and is available at http:///www.dti.gov.uk/energy/nuclear/fsu /news/Second_annual_report.pdf

linkname:Department of Trade and Industry http://www.dti.gov.uk
News release No. P/2005/084
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