Nairobi, Kenya – Kenya has vowed to work closely with other nations in putting in place tighter mechanisms against security risks like terrorism and organized crimes.

Addressing a regional meeting on Tuesday attended by officials from at least 20 countries, Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA) Director General James Keter said changes in technology and the cross-border nature of crimes call for effective preventive and response strategies.

Mr Keter, at the same time, said that with fears of porous borders fueling illicit trafficking of radiological and nuclear materials, stakeholders should ‘work day and night’ to ensure safety and protection of people, property and the environment.

The two-day meeting is a culmination of efforts to strengthen regional security collaborations under a European Union-funded programme that has set up Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EU-CBRN) Centers of Excellence across the region.

The Director General told the forum that no nation can win the war against organized crimes on its own. “Part of what we are doing now includes working with partners to strengthen Kenya’s, and the wider region’s biosafety and biosecurity capabilities,” he said.

He added: “We must expand our focus beyond borders to encompass global and regional threats. This includes bolstering measures for the safe transport and management of chemicals, strengthening laws against illicit trafficking of radiological and nuclear materials.”

Ms Marian De Bruijn, the Programme Manager at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) said that with traditional donors pulling away, it is important for countries and regions to verify sources of resources and ensure funding arrangement benefits countries involved.

“One of the most sustainable avenues of diversifying funding sources is to involve the private sector. We must also realign our agenda and seek opportunities for collaborations that will ensure safety,” she said at the meeting held at KNRA’s Central Radioactive Waste Management facility in Oloolua, Kajiado County.

KNRA hosts the EU-CBRN Regional Secretariat for the Eastern and Central African Centres of Excellence Initiative, comprising 12 member states. Mr Keter said that as the EU-funded programme marks its 15th anniversary this year, members should deepen partnerships, and reaffirm their commitment to a safer and secure future.

The EU-CBRN Centre of Excellence has three African regional secretariats with 28 partner countries. The North Africa and Sahel Regional secretariat is based in Algeria, African Atlantic Façade Regional Secretariat is in Morocco while the Eastern and Central Africa Regional Secretariat is in Kenya.

At the Tuesday forum, speaker after speaker said with growth in AI and machine learning, countries have an obligation to develop viable mechanisms of dealing with threats, saying every CBRN-related incident should be a learning experience that leads to better planning and informed decision-making. The meeting ends tomorrow.