Toespraak Rutte bij het openingsdiner van de Nuclear Industry Summit

Toespraak | 23-03-2014

Ladies and gentlemen,

For the next few days, the Nuclear Security Summit will have this country in its grip, literally and figuratively. The same goes for events linked to the NSS, like the Nuclear Industry Summit that has brought you to Amsterdam. In logistical terms alone, we have never known an operation like this in the Netherlands.But we are glad to host these events, because the subject is so important.

So I’m delighted to welcome you to the Netherlands. And I know I can also speak for my colleague Henk Kamp who is also here this evening and who will address your conference tomorrow. Tomorrow and the day after in The Hague, over 50 world leaders will once more take major steps to prevent nuclear terrorism.

Since the first summit in Washington in 2010, this process has achieved clear results. Think for example of the declining use of highly enriched uranium for reactor fuel and medical isotope production.

This shows that four years ago we set out in the right direction and that we are making good progress. The key question we will discuss in the next few days is: how can we make sure that nuclear material is safely handled, traded and stored and doesn’t end up in the wrong hands? From the start of the process we’ve been aware of the importance of the companies and research centres that work with such material.

The Netherlands is a strong advocate of government-to-industry dialogue. I know you’re all committed to excellence and I highly appreciate your efforts. You, the civil nuclear sector, are our first line of defence, so security has to be a top priority in everything you do. But your security measures also have to give you enough scope to do your highly specialised work properly and efficiently. After all, we cannot forget how useful, even essential nuclear technology is in many ways.

For energy, for example. Or in medicine. We in the Netherlands know this better than anyone. Thirty per cent of all the isotopes used worldwide to treat cancer and detect heart disease come from the Dutch reactor in Petten.And Urenco in the Netherlands is one of the world’s leading producers of enriched uranium.

For these reasons too, the Nuclear Industry Summit is important for our country. This is the third time the NIS is being held alongside the NSS. I would like to thank Huub Rakhorst of Urenco for all the time and energy his company has put into the preparations. Over the next two days you will once more be examining every facet of securing nuclear material. That includes how production is organised. But equally important is striking and maintaining the right balance between your role as nuclear licence holders and government’s role as policymaker and regulator.

I’m optimistic about the outcome of this process, because we’ve managed in the preparations to give fostering dialogue a prominent place on the NSS agenda – an even higher place than in Washington and Seoul. This will be reflected in the final communiqué, and that’s good news. It demonstrates how aware all the parties are of their shared responsibility for nuclear security. So I was glad as NSS chair to invite your chair to present the conclusions of this third NIS in The Hague on Tuesday afternoon.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I hope you will find time in your busy schedule in the next few days to see something of the Netherlands. I can promise you that this splendid location in our capital city and this delicious dinner are only a foretaste of the fine and beautiful things that our country has to offer our visitors from abroad.

Thank you for coming to the Netherlands, for your commitment to the NIS, and for your attention.

I would like to propose a toast: to a successful Nuclear Industry Summit!