His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday called for international joint efforts to pre-empt any nuclear disaster, urging partners to instil a culture of nuclear security across the board.

In his remarks at a working dinner held by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima in honour of participants of the Nuclear Security Summit 2014, held in The Hague, King Abdullah said, “We simply cannot wait for such a catastrophe to happen before we act. We must be ahead and stay ahead of the threat.”

His Majesty, who headed Jordan’s delegation to the high-profile summit, was speaking at the dinner on behalf of more than 50 states taking part in the two-day summit.

The King urged an anti-nuclear armament culture as a prerequisite for nuclear security, which demands a two-layer shield, namely, tough security precautions and transparency that contributes to an alert and confident public.

Outlining the Kingdom’s efforts in the field, His Majesty said that Jordan has made nuclear security and cooperation a priority, noting that the Kingdom would soon ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

The King called for a “strong joint communiqué and the follow-up it needs”. To enhance cooperation, His Majesty urged partners to contribute to the effort through information sharing, technologies and training.

The Jordanian delegation to the summit comprises His Royal Highness Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad, Jordan’s permanent representative to the UN, Foreign Minister and Expatriates Affairs Nasser Judeh, His Majesty’s Office Director Imad Fakhoury, and Jordanian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ahmad Mefleh.

More than 5,000 delegates are attending the summit along with representatives of regional and international organisations.

The summit was first initiated by US President Barack Obama, who, in a speech delivered in 2009 in Prague, described nuclear terrorism as one of the greatest threats to international security and called for joint international efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism by agreeing on specific points to help achieve nuclear security.