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Welcome to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

GLOBAL NUCLEAR ENERGY PARTNERSHIP MINISTERIAL MEETING OCTOBER 1, 2008, IN PARIS, FRANCE
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership will hold its second Executive Committee meeting in Paris, France on October 1, 2008. In addition to ministerial-level officials from the 21 partner countries, three permanent inter-government observers and 17 observer countries, 25 new countries and one additional inter-government organization have been invited to attend and join GNEP. This meeting will be hosted by the Government of France. The GNEP Partners plan to review the progress of the Partnership, including the Working Groups for Infrastructure Development and Reliable Nuclear Fuel Services, and discuss future steps.

About the Partnership

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) is cooperation of those States that share the common vision of the necessity of the expansion of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes worldwide in a safe and secure manner. It aims to accelerate development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle technologies to encourage clean development and prosperity worldwide, improve the environment, and reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.

The cooperation will be carried out under existing and, where appropriate, new bilateral arrangements as well as existing multilateral arrangements such as the Generation IV International Forum and the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles.

Today the partnership consists of 21 partners, three permanent international nongovernment observers; and seventeen participating observer countries. These partners are: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Ghana, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States. The three permanent international nongovernment observers are: the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Generation IV International Forum and Euratom.

The Statement of Principles is the policy framework for the Partnership. A country can become a partner with an invitation from the existing partners and by affirming and signing the GNEP Statement of Principles. Invited countries may attend meetings as Candidate Partners to better understand the partnership before a decision to join is made. International nongovernment organizations that have a direct relationship in GNEP may serve as observers at the invitation of the members.

The Partnership consists of a three-tiered organization. It receives its high-level direction from the GNEP Executive Committee comprised of Ministerial-level officials. The Steering Group, whose members are designated by the Executive Committee, carries out actions on behalf of GNEP at the direction of the Executive Committee. At a September 2007 meeting of the Executive Committee, two working groups were established to address matters concerning reliable nuclear fuel services and infrastructure development.

The last GNEP Executive Committee meeting occurred on September 16, 2007 in Vienna, Austria whereby thirty-five (35) countries and three (3) international nongovernmental organizations attended. Sixteen (16) of these countries signed the GNEP Statement of Principles, thus formally establishing this international partnership. Since then, four additional countries have signed the Statement of Principles to become GNEP Partners. The GNEP Steering Group successfully held its first meeting in December 2007 whereby a GNEP Action Plan was formally adopted.