Joint statement on minimization of highly enriched uranium

The National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy of the United States of America (NNSA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (MFA) seek to highlight their close cooperation on the elimination of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in support of global nonproliferation objectives.    

NNSA and the MFA note that the United States of America and Norway have a long history of cooperation on nuclear security and the minimization of HEU and have made significant advances toward eliminating Norway’s last remaining inventory of HEU since the 2020 International Conference on Nuclear Security.   

To that end, NNSA and the MFA affirm their intention to begin, in Norway, the first phase of in-country downblending of Norway’s inventory of HEU-thorium materials to low-enriched uranium before the end of 2024. It is also the intention of NNSA and the MFA to deploy the Mobile Melt-Consolidate system to Norway as soon as possible, in a manner consistent with Norway’s regulatory framework, to ultimately enable Norway to join the list of HEU-free states.   

NNSA and the MFA reaffirm their shared goals of advancing these and other cooperative activities that strengthen the nuclear security and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. 

Signed in Vienna 22 May 2024