The Nuclear Security Summit process was an unprecedented event that achieved phenomenal success in drawing global attention to the danger of nuclear terrorism. The Summit process panning from (2010-2016) focussed on the urgency to secure nuclear materials and facilities. It highlighted the need to develop newer mechanisms that can help mitigate nuclear risks. The development of the concept of nuclear centres of excellence is one such aspect. Despite the phenomenal success of the Summit process, newer threats continue to challenge the security of nuclear materials and facilities. Emergence of new threats like the Islamic State; continuing nuclear proliferation trends; increasing incidents of nuclear thefts; weak links in transport security, existing legal instrument of nuclear security and protection of our fissile materials pose serious threats to nuclear security. It is important that the international community addresses the existing threats to nuclear security not only to mitigate the dangers of nuclear terrorism but also to strengthen the achievements of the Summit process.
Dr Reshmi Kazi is Associate Fellow in the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. She specialises in nuclear security, nuclear non-proliferation, and nuclear disarmament studies. Her doctoral thesis is on “Evolution of India’s Nuclear Doctrine: A Study of Political, Economic and Technological Dimensions” from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has written extensively on nuclear security issues and made several presentations including a paper on Nuclear Terrorism and UN Resolution 1540: A South Asian Perspective at the UN Headquarters, New York. Her publications includes monograph on Nuclear Terrorism: The New Terror of the 21st Century (2013); Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership: India’s Gift Basket of Nuclear Security in Asian Strategic Review 2015: India as a Security Provider; Nuclear Security in Asia: Problems and Challenges in Strategic Analyses, 39 (4), 2015. She is an alumni of National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Study and a Visiting Fellow (Summer 2016) for the South Asia programme in the Stimson Center, Washington DC. Her aim is to research and publish on critical areas pertaining to nuclear issues that can contribute to future policy making.