The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit opened on Monday in Seoul with the participation of His Majesty King Abdullah along with 43 world leaders.

Urging greater efforts to prevent the smuggling of nuclear materials such as highly-enriched uranium and plutonium, King Abdullah announced that Jordan started to form a counter nuclear smuggling team, comprising officials and experts from various security institutions.

As U.S. President Barack Obama hailed Jordan as one of the countries that seek to combat nuclear smuggling, His Majesty’s participation in the summit came to affirm Jordan's commitment to nuclear security as the country seeks to implement a peaceful nuclear program to secure alternative sources of energy.

On the sidelines of the nuclear security summit, the King attended a reception held by South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak in honour of the participating delegates.

King Abdullah held talks with a number of presidents and heads of delegations, including Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Sauli Niinisto, president of Finland.

He also met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.