Egypt is set to participate in this year's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on 31 March to 1 April, state owned MENA agency reported on Thursday.

Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry would likely head the Egyptian delegation at the summit.

The US is hosting more than 50 world leaders, including representatives from the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Interpol and the European Union.

According to a statement by the White House, the fourth and final summit will continue the "discussion on the evolving [nuclear] threat and highlight steps that can be taken together to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism."

The first summit was held in Washington in 2010 with the aim of uniting together international efforts to "secure vulnerable nuclear materials, break up black markets, and detect and intercept illicitly trafficked materials".