US President Barack Obama's nuclear security summit was a particular success on two fronts. It helped to reinforce a global consensus that reducing stockpiles of nuclear weapons is the right way to go while also offering some practical solutions. The summit also did well to make clear that the threat of nuclear terrorism is increasing dramatically, and that new steps are thus required to make sure that terrorist groups do not get hold of nuclear weapons.
Old definitions of nuclear security have faded as conventional nuclear forces seem less likely to go to war, but the potential threat from terrorist groups is growing. This is why the other participants agreed with Obama's suggestion that all nuclear materials should be secured within four years to keep them out of the grasp of terrorists. Obama also led the conference to define how a new Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) might work. Obama was laying the groundwork for the summit next month on renewing the NPT, and he is looking for tougher penalties against countries that renege on their undertakings or start nuclear programmes without having signed the treaty in the first place. Nuclear technology will spread very rapidly in the next few years, and building strong enforcement mechanisms is crucial.
However, one of the best things about this nuclear security summit was that it happened at all, and that it included so many countries. It showed for the first time that Obama's commitment to multilateral thinking and action is genuine. It is hard to imagine any other US president getting such a mixed group into one room, and coming out with a unified conclusion. This in itself is a major advance in the way that the world runs its affairs.
