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Sam NunnFormer United States Senator Sam Nunn, Distinguished Professor of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, aided in the creation of a low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel bank to provide resources to countries for peaceful purposes. This bank, which will be housed in Kazakhstan, is a result of the work between the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“This is a significant milestone in global nuclear cooperation that will enable peaceful uses of nuclear energy while reducing the risks of proliferation and catastrophic terrorism,” said Nunn. “If the dozens of countries interested in nuclear energy also choose to pursue uranium enrichment, the risk of proliferation of dangerous nuclear materials and weapons would grow beyond the tipping point. This has been our experience with Iran. The IAEA LEU Bank now gives countries an alternative to that choice and direction.”
Sam Nunn founded NTI along with Ted Turner and now serves as the co-chairman. As a non-profit and non-partisan organization, NTI became a catalyst for government action and the United States along with the European Union, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates helped fund the bank's establishment.
“We are very grateful to our funding partners and to Warren Buffett for their generosity and resolve,” said Nunn. “We are also appreciative of the leadership shown by the IAEA and its Board of Governors and the government of Kazakhstan and President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kazakhstan has made tremendous efforts to reduce nuclear dangers over many decades.”
All in all, the LEU bank enables a stable way to supply nuclear fuel to countries without affecting the commercial market negatively.
Sam Nunn is co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and serves as chairman of the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is also a board member of The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric Company, and Hess Corporation.
