Assemblée parlementaire de l'OTAN
HomeMEDIA RESOURCES200913 July 2009 - Members of the NATO PA Science and Technology Committee visited the United States last week

13 July 2009 - Members of the NATO PA Science and Technology Committee visited the United States last week

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Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, energy security, as well as the security implications of new technologies were major themes of the visit of the NATO parliamentary delegation to Boston, Livermore and Monterey on 6-10 July. Seventeen members of the Science and Technology Committee (STC), led by STC Vice-Chairman Senator Pierre Claude Nolin (Canada), were briefed by and had discussions with eminent American experts and scholars, and visited leading R&D institutions in the field of defence technology, including Raytheon, Sandia National Laboratories and the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.

During the discussions, it was emphasised that President Obama’s pro-engagement foreign policy approach should help reinvigorate the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. Experts of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies called for a comprehensive discussion within NATO on the future of nuclear deterrent capability. They strongly supported the nuclear-free world vision embraced by the new US administration and argued that nuclear weapons are becoming increasingly obsolete.

Another theme which featured strongly in briefings and discussions was energy and environmental security. The Assembly delegation was briefed on a number of technological innovations that could help address the challenge of developing our economies in an environmentally sustainable fashion. It was stressed that nuclear energy should be an important part of the energy mix.

NATO legislators were impressed by the achievements of the US defence technology sector. All the participants agreed that more should be done, however, to enhance technological and scientific cooperation between the United States and its Allies.

 

 
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