WASHINGTON — Large inventories of nuclear materials stored in Canada will be transferred to the United States to keep them out of the reach of militants, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday.

The "significant quantity" of highly enriched uranium stored at the Chalk River Laboratories near Ottawa would be made unusable for nuclear weapons once moved to the United States, he said in a statement.

Harper made the announcement on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit taking place in Washington, in a move welcomed by the White House.

"Canada is actively participating in international efforts to help ensure that nuclear weapons materials do not fall into the hands of terrorists," Harper said.

The transfers are to take place between 2010 and 2018, as part of broader international efforts being promoted at the summit to consolidate fresh and spent highly-enriched uranium at a smaller number of very secure locations -- principally in the United States and Russia.

"We welcome this important announcement from Prime Minister Harper, which demonstrates Canada's strong leadership on nuclear security, and its close partnership with the United States on key global issues," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

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