Congress is reviewing a proposed agreement for cooperation between the United States and Norway on peaceful uses of nuclear energy that President Barack Obama approved last week in a presidential memorandum.
The U.S. has signed nuclear cooperation deals – or 123 agreements – with a number of countries for technical exchanges, research, and other activities, provided the other countries commit themselves to nuclear nonproliferation norms. Countries in 123 agreements with the U.S. include Canada, Egypt, Japan, and Kazakhstan – in addition to Norway.
The latest agreement under congressional review establishes the legal framework for civil nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Norway “in conformity with the highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation,” the State Department said Tuesday in a statement.
Congress is given 90 days of continuous session to review the agreement; if it approves the deal or takes no action, the agreement will then go into effect.
The two countries on March 31, during the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, signed a memorandum of understanding strengthening their partnership to counter nuclear terrorism by securing nuclear materials and taking measures against nuclear trafficking.
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also signed in June 2014 a MOU to bolster their global nonproliferation efforts, for which Norway contributed over $94.5 million. This partnership entailed counter-nuclear smuggling activities in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as funding for the NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative.
