U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed the achievements of the Nuclear Security Summit here , including some countries ' agreements to give their highly enriched uranium to the United States for degrading . `` We 've seen such steps as Belgium and Italy completing the removal of their excess supplies of highly enriched uranium and plutonium so that those supplied can be eliminated , '' he said at a joint news conference with Mark Rutte , the Prime Minister of the Netherlands . And dozens of other nations have agreed to take steps to improve nuclear security in their own countries and to support global efforts , the U.S. President said . `` So what 's been valuable about this summit is that it has not just been talk , it 's been action . '' Hours after Obama landed Monday in The Netherlands for the summit , the White House announced a deal to dispose of huge quantities of nuclear material from Japan . Obama credited the heads of state who participated in the effort , `` as well as the extraordinary work of foreign ministers and sherpas and others who have helped to move this process forward . '' The United States is doing its part , too , by installing more radiation detection equipment at ports and other transit sites to thwart would-be smugglers of nuclear materials ; by developing guidelines to strengthen cybersecurity at nuclear power plants ; and by pursuing production of an isotope used in medicine that does not require weapons-usable materials , he said . But more work is to be done `` to fully secure all nuclear and radiological material ... so that it can no longer pose a risk to our citizens , '' he added . `` Given the catastrophic consequences of even a single attack , we can not be complacent . '' He noted that Ukraine agreed at the first such summit , in 2010 , to remove its highly enriched uranium from its nuclear fuel sites . `` Had that not happened , those dangerous nuclear materials would still be there now , and the difficult situation we are dealing with in Ukraine today would involve yet another level of concern . '' Before the next such summit , to be held in 2016 in Chicago , `` we have to set very clearly what are the actionable items that we 've already identified that we know can get done if we have the political will to do them , and let 's go ahead and get them done , '' he said . Tuesday 's session marked the third such gathering of world leaders since Obama helped launched the initiative in 2009 . According to a report issued last year by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies , the United States will spend at least $ 179 billion over the nine fiscal years of 2010-2018 on its nuclear arsenal .
`` It has not just been talk , it has been action , '' Obama says of the nuclear summit . Obama : The U.S. is doing its part , too , with installation of more radiation detection equipment . Ukraine gave up its highly enriched uranium in 2010 .