 A peaceful day at Lausanne in Moldova, where a steady flow of traffic is crossing the border with Romania. Few people would notice it, but each vehicle has to drive through a radiation detection portal that checks for signs of undeclared radioactive material. Suddenly, the calm is shattered. Customs officers, with handheld radiation detectors, quickly pick up two radioactive materials that were not in the driver's paperwork. Cesium 137, which is most typically used in industrial gauges, and Cobalt 60, which is often used in cancer treatment. Cobalt 60. This time, it's just a test, part of a three-day national training exercise supported by the IAEA and run by Moldova's own civil protection and customs services. But the threat is real. Not only can such materials be dangerous, if not properly handled, but there is a risk that they could be put to malicious use, in a so-called dirty bomb, for example. Moldova has been working closely with the IAEA, as well as bilaterally with other countries, to strengthen its defences against nuclear smuggling. The agency provides advice, training and technical equipment to its member states, including the Radiation Detection Portal at Lausene, and two more at the International Airport in the capital, Kishinau. I have a very positive view of the IAEA's work in nuclear security. It's a very effective cooperation. From the moment I started working with the agency's experts, I realized how much I didn't know about radioactive sources and the damage they can cause. In 2011, a sting operation by Moldovan police in central Kishinau, based on information shared between countries, led to the seizure of high-enriched uranium that was being offered by criminals on the black market. Judging from my experience and seeing what's going on around us, including situations that we faced in the Republic of Moldova, we realized that the risk of nuclear terrorism is very high. Even though Moldova is a very small state, we may face this threat because we are a transit country. The exercise involves all of Moldova's main emergency and law enforcement agencies, including experts from the country's nuclear regulator and a police forensics specialist. Real radioactive sources are used, strong enough to trigger the alarm, but weak enough to minimize any risk of harm to the participants. Once they are found and identified, the sources are logged as evidence. Then they have to be packed in special shielded containers for safe transport to secure storage. The van has to be checked and cleaned to remove possible contamination. Then the emergency personnel themselves have to go through decontamination procedures to make sure they don't accidentally spread any traces of radioactive material. Afterwards, participants and evaluators gather together to compare experiences and identify lessons learned to improve future coordination. We always say that the best way to learn to do something is practicing, and the only way to practice it to make through exercises. And that's why we are working together in order to obtain this term, nuclear security, not just as a dream, but as something real and useful to our country. In just a few years of collaboration with the IAEA, Moldova has not only gained the know-how to run its own training exercises, but it also contributes trainers for courses run by the agency in other countries, continuing to build the knowledge and international bonds that help to strengthen nuclear security worldwide.