The United States signed an agreement on Tuesday with its regional ally Jordan to help prevent smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive material into the kingdom, the US embassy said.
Under the deal, the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will install radiation detection equipment at the Red Sea port of Aqaba and some land border crossings.
It will help Jordan "prevent the smuggling of nuclear and radiological material by expanding its detection systems to include airports, seaports, and land border crossings," US deputy administrator for defence nuclear non-proliferation, William Tobey, said in an embassy statement.
NNSA will also train Jordanians on the use of such equipment and provide maintenance services.
"We are pleased to count Jordan among our partners in the global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism and proliferation," he said.
Energy-poor Jordan has signed nuclear cooperation agreements with the United State and other countries to pave the way for producing nuclear energy, which the desert kingdom wants to use to generate power and desalinate water.
It is the latest Sunni Arab country, including Egypt and pro-Western Gulf states, to announce plans for nuclear power programmes in the face of Shiite Iran's controversial atomic drive.
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