Advancing Advancing Nuclear Safety, Security, and Nonproliferation through the FIRST Program
The Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR), part of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN), sponsors foreign assistance activities funded by the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) account, and focuses on mitigating weapons of mass destruction (WMD), related delivery systems, and advanced conventional weapons proliferation and security threats from proliferator states and non-state actors. An underlying aim of all ISN/CTR’s efforts is long-term sustainability to maximize programmatic impact while minimizing the need for foreign partners to rely on outside financial or technical assistance. ISN/CTR administers the Partnership for Nuclear Threat Reduction Program (PNTR). The PNTR team functions as the State Department’s programmatic lead for the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program, a Presidential initiative announced by the White House in April 2021.