DUSHANBE, August 24, 2011, Asia-Plus — On August 23, British Ambassador to Tajikistan, Trevor Moore and a Delegation of the UK Global Threat Reduction Program visited Fayzobod for a ceremony to open an upgraded new facility to protect radioactive material, marking the completion of a joint Tajik-British project, according to the British Embassy in Dushanbe.
This project, funded by the UK Global Threat Reduction Program (GTRP) and delivered via the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), representatives of which also attended the ceremony, has significantly improved security at Fayzobod’s Republican Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility (RRWDF) through the provision of substantial infrastructure improvements.
The objective in this project, as with all GTRP physical protection projects, was to bring the site into line with IAEA standards for the protection of radioactive material.
After a tour of the facility with the UK Delegation and Tajik officials, Trevor Moore said in a speech: “I am delighted to be here today to mark the completion of upgrades to the security arrangements here at Fayzobod. This has been a significant, and challenging project for the UK’s Global Threat Reduction Program, working together with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the authorities in Tajikistan, who carry the burden of responsibility for ensuring that measures are in place to protect nuclear and radioactive materials, including the material here at Fayzobod. Over the years of the project the British Government has built a close working relationship with the IAEA and with the Tajik Government. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration in the future”.
The UK Global Threat Reduction Program was originally established to deliver the UK’s contribution to the G8 Global Partnership, a ten year, $20 billion initiative launched in 2002 principally to assist Russia and other Former Soviet Union countries in dealing with their Soviet Weapons of Mass Destruction legacy. The UK pledged up to $750 million to the Global Partnership and to date has spent over £350 million.
