A dozen countries will meet in Rabat next week to discuss efforts to fight the threat of nuclear terrorism as part of a US-Russia initiative launched in July, the State Department said Friday.
The meeting of the "Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism" Monday will bring together the Group of Eight countries -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada -- and China, Kazakhstan and Turkey, a State Department official said.
The official called nuclear terrorism "the pre-eminent challenge that we face in the context of our national security."
The participants will discuss a declaration of principles for working together to fight the spectre of nuclear terrorism, in the project launched by US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit last July 15 in Saint Petersburg.
"The co-operation with the Russians has been very positive and very comprehensive on this point. We have got many differences with the Russians but on this point, we have been working together, leading this effort," the official said.
"Morocco has been a good partner with both the US and Russia on counterterrorism," the official added about the meeting's host.
"Morocco has very strong non-proliferation credentials ... It sends the right signal: this is not a Western initiative. It's a world initiative."