The informal group of countries that export nuclear materials and technology and that are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agreed on procedures to halt "nuclear transfers to countries that are non-compliant with their safeguards agreements".

The discussions were held behind closed doors but the NSG revealed in its statement that concerns over the nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran had figured high on the agenda.

The organization, which approved Croatia as its 45th member at the Oslo meeting (effective from July 15), "called on all states to exercise extreme vigilance and make best efforts to ensure that none of their exports of goods and technologies contribute to nuclear weapons programs".

The NSG, which includes major exporters such as Britain, France, Russia and the United States, also determined that countries dealing with nuclear material should come up with fall-back safeguards in case the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was unable to continue ensuring safe use in recipient states.

The group additionally insisted that effective export controls in recipient states should be "a criterion of supply for nuclear material, equipment and technology".

"There are a lot of products which can be used to perfectly legitimate ends, but which can also be used to construct weapons of mass destruction," Richard Ekwall, outgoing group president, said when the Oslo meeting got underway on Monday.

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