Category: Statement

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Nobel’s spotlight on our perilous path and how we change course

I want to start by congratulating Nihon Hidankyō and the hibakusha for their Nobel Peace Prize.

As a young diplomat almost 40 years ago, I was fortunate to be part of a UN disarmament fellowship programme and to visit Hiroshima. There, fellows had an opportunity to meet the hibakusha and I had a conversation with an ailing victim. I have carried to every meeting, to every negotiation, and to every posting, the memory this woman’s silent testimony. When I asked her about that morning in 1945, she struggled to express the horror in words. She tried to articulate some words but stayed silent. Looking at me, right into my eyes. The look in her eyes has stayed with me ever since, like a powerful reminder, a secret mandate, to work so that her suffering is never repeated.

For decades after the Second World War, the international community has been dealing with this unique dilemma: we built robust norms and passed nonproliferation and disarmament treaties. Instead of dozens of countries armed with nuclear weapons, as was the concern in the 1960s, there are less than ten. Stockpiles of nuclear weapons have shrunk from tens of thousands to thousands.

But on its journey through the perils of the atomic age, the world has come to a crucial crossroads. Our deep psychological connection caused by collectively seeing the horror of the consequences of nuclear war seems to be evaporating, taking with it our joint resolve to do everything possible to prevent a repetition.

Like a giant spotlight, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has lit up our path ahead. It has done it, by reminding us of the past, and of the consequences of ignoring the perils of nuclear weapons use.

Context of conflicts

To understand the important challenges we face, we must look at the global context, at what is happening around the world.  

War has returned to Europe, and it directly involves a nuclear weapon state. The conflict in Ukraine is also an indirect confrontation between the world’s biggest nuclear weapon states, the first since the end of the Cold War. But nuclear exercises and open references to the use of nuclear weapons in the theatre of this war are increasing the risks and can not be ignored.

In the Middle East, the conflict of the past year has ignited smoldering tensions between Israel and Iran and led to the unprecedented step of direct exchanges and attacks between the two. Here there is also a nuclear weapons dimension. On one side, the assumed presence of nuclear weapons looms in the background. On the other, the very real potential of nuclear proliferation is raising the stakes.

We find ourselves in a harmful loop: the erosion of the restraints around nuclear weapons is making these conflicts more dangerous. Meanwhile, these conflicts are contributing to the erosion of the restraints. The vicious circle dynamic is in motion.

An unfortunate change of direction

Doctrines regarding the use of nuclear weapons are being revised or reinterpreted. The quantity and quality of nuclear weapon stockpiles are being increased. 

And in some non-nuclear weapon states – states that are important in their region – leaders are asking “why not us?”. And they are asking this openly!

At the start of the nuclear arms race, J Robert Oppenheimer described the USSR and the US as “two scorpions in a bottle” each capable of killing the other, but only by risking their own life.

Oppenheimer’s blunt statement would later be developed and elaborated under the roof of deterrence and the more sophisticated concept of “Mutual Assured Destruction,” or MAD.

Today, independent of the vantage point of the observer, there is widespread concern that the risk of mutual destruction through nuclear war is higher than it has been for more than a generation.

Lessons from history

But it does not have to be this way. We can do better. History has shown that effective dialogue among superpowers has, more often than not, led to confidence and, as a result, also to arms limitation and even disarmament. At certain moments in history, world leaders took the right decisions, to tone down, or, to use today’s parlance, to de-escalate. Let’s see:

The end of the Cuban Missile Crisis happened thanks to the direct engagement of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and US President John F Kennedy. Decades later, at the Geneva Summit of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan agreed a crucial axiom: “Nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought.” They met again the next year in Reykjavik and significant reductions in nuclear arsenals followed. Nuclear weapon reductions and the elimination of a whole category of weapon, through the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty, were agreed. These steps towards rapprochement took leadership and courage. They often happened despite skepticism and voices against them.

Diplomacy and dialogue (and the duty of nuclear weapon states)

A return to diplomacy and dialogue is urgently needed, and this, not only in things nuclear. Shutting the other side out has never solved a problem and almost certainly aggravates it. Top leadership involvement is simply indispensable when nuclear weapons are involved. President Trump took the initiative and talked to Kim Jong Un. More of this is needed. Some have said these talks were ill prepared. I say, this is important. Nuclear weapon policy and limitations does not work bottom up. It is of course the other way around.

We must be proactive in building the trust and protections that lower the risk of close calls and of brinkmanship, especially during today’s tensions. Not taking active steps means we rely on luck – or the assumption that the other side will show restraint – to save us from nuclear war. The longer you rely on luck, the more likely it is to run out.

Conflict and tensions compel nations to arm themselves. Diplomacy and compromise create conditions in which they can disarm.

The road to a nuclear weapon-free world is long and winding. The disarmament landscape is complex, and it’s worth acknowledging that. This does not diminish the responsibility nuclear weapons states have to make progress. After all, they committed themselves to this goal back in 1968, through the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Steps can be taken to decrease the reliance on nuclear weapons, both in their production and the scenarios for their use.

Nuclear weapon states, through their actions at home and on the world stage, have a responsibility to avoid a scenario in which more countries seek nuclear weapons. Pushing ahead with increases in arsenals leads to despair, cynicism, and a growing skepticism about the value of past commitments. Disengagement and unilateralism fuel sentiments of vulnerability in other countries, and with that, the notion nuclear weapons could be the ultimate protection against outside threats.

Engagement among the five permanent members of the Security Council is indispensable. Such engagement can take many different shapes, starting with direct contact among themselves, bilaterally or as a group. This dialogue, which still exists, has been reduced to a very low level, virtually without real impact. Perhaps its revival could be assisted by an international organization, or facilitated with the support of a respected, impartial leader. Therefore, it’s essential that the United Nations, other international organizations, and their leaders work effectively to ensure their continued relevance amid the changing needs of their stakeholders.

Do not make things worse (by falling for the siren call of proliferation)

The IAEA has played its indispensable technical role during past attempts of nuclear proliferation, particularly in the Middle East. As the difficult experiences in Iraq, Libya and Syria remind us, the draw of nuclear weapons is real and so is the geopolitical and military response.

Today’s tensions are prompting even leaders of important counties that, so far, are in good standing with the NPT to ask: “Why shouldn’t we have a nuclear weapon too?”

To this, I would say, “Do not make things worse.” Acquiring a nuclear weapon will not increase national security, it will do the opposite. Other countries will follow. And this will contribute to the unravelling of a nonproliferation regime that has had its ups and downs – and it still has its limitations – but none-the-less it has served humanity extraordinarily well. The problem and challenge to the NPT regime may come from those nuclear armed but also those who, while not having nuclear weapons, may feel the NPT has failed as a catalyst to disarmament.

Weakening the non-proliferation treaty under the argument that progress on nuclear disarmament has been slow and more drastic approaches are required, would be totally misguided and may make us throw away existing international measures committing nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states in this field.

I come from a non-nuclear weapon state. I understand the frustration that some people feel about the “haves” and “have-nots” of nuclear weapons. But I have also seen the legacy of peace and prosperity left by leaders who resisted that siren call. In the 1980s, vision, resolve and dialogue meant Brazil and Argentina changed course and did not go down the path to nuclear arms. Today, Latin America is a nuclear weapon free zone.

Multilateral leaders: step up by stepping in

Many wonder whether there’s still a role for multilateralism in guiding us through this maze of conflicting interests. Yes, there is. During difficult times in the past, international organizations have had a big impact on peace and security. But it only happens when leaders of these organizations get off the side lines and use their mandate and their own good offices effectively.

We prove our relevance in extraordinary times.   

Each organization has different tools, a different mandate, a different membership, and each of their leaders will determine how to act. I can speak for the IAEA.  We have nuclear science at our core, and we are the world’s nuclear weapons watchdog. Let me give you an example:

For almost three years, Ukraine, the world and the IAEA have been confronted with a completely unprecedented situation – never before has a military conflict involved the seizure of a nuclear power plant and been fought among the facilities of a major nuclear power programme.

At the beginning of the war, Ukraine’s biggest nuclear power plant – the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe, with nearly 6 gigawatts of installed capacity – was taken by Russia. This established a hotspot in the middle of a combat zone. The chance of an incident – or accident – causing terrible radiological consequences became real.

Observing this from the outside was never, in my mind, an option. Staying on the sidelines and later reflecting on “lessons learned” may have been the more traditional – or expected – path for an international organization. But to me this would have been a dereliction of duty. So, we leaned into our core mission, crossed the front lines of war, and established a permanent presence of IAEA experts at all Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. That makes us the only international organization operating independently in occupied territory. We are informing the world of what’s going on and reducing the chance that a radiological incident enflames the conflict and causes even more devastation.

We did the same by going to Kursk when a Russian nuclear reactor was at risk of coming into the line of fire. I am in constant communication with both sides.

I have been meeting with President Zelenskyy, and President Putin regularly. Nuclear safety and security during this conflict must have the buy-in and continued involvement of both leaders. Talking to only one of them would not achieve this important goal. At the same time, I am keeping an open dialogue with leaders on all continents and briefing the UN Security Council. When it comes to nuclear safety in Ukraine it has been possible to build a level of agreement that is rare during the divisions of this conflict. Where there is agreement, there is hope for more agreement.

Ukraine is not our only hotspot.

In Iran, the IAEA’s job is to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of a growing nuclear programme. Iran has now enriched uranium to a level that is hard to justify. It has not yet answered the IAEA’s questions completely and it has made our work more difficult by taking away some of our cameras and blocking some of our most experienced safeguards inspectors from going into the country. This has caused concern and led to a pattern of mistrust and recriminations. In diplomacy, progress often requires prompting, catalyzing, and suggesting ways forward. This presents a role for an impartial, honest and effective broker. It is a role I, in my capacity as the IAEA’s Director General, have been playing. In fact, I returned from my latest visit to Tehran just a few weeks ago where I presented alternatives and ideas to reduce the growing tensions, and hopefully to retain Iran within the NPT and the non-proliferation norms.

The danger of playing it safe

When it comes to working on behalf of peace and security, playing it safe is dangerous.

Silence and indifference can be deadly.

Dag Hammerskjold, the second Secretary General of the United Nations, said: “It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity.”

A new path

This week, the Norwegian Nobel Committee looked beyond today’s conflicts. In its own way, it did not play it safe. Instead, it shined a light on the horrors of nuclear war and the people who have been warning us about them for many decades.

In doing that, the Nobel Committee, Nihon Hidankyō and the hibakusha have illuminated the danger of the path we are now on.

We have to make a new path.

First, the leaders of the nuclear weapon states must recognize the need for a responsible management of their nuclear arsenals. Experiences from the past confirm that even at times of crisis and conflict it has been possible to recognize the unique terminal power of these weapons and the responsibility that comes with it. What Kennedy, Khrushchev, Reagan, Gorbachev, or Trump did by reaching out to a nuclear-armed adversary, sets a precedent, a useful one. Such contacts, either bilateral or at the P5 level could possibly be facilitated by a competent broker. These are the first steps to bringing down the tone so that nuclear sabre rattling recedes and the commitments to the unequivocal undertakings to move towards a nuclear free world can be fulfilled.

Secondly, an iron-clad resolve to observe and strengthen the global non-proliferation regime needs to be adopted. Nuclear weapon and nuclear non-weapon states must work together to ensure the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We need to walk through perilous times by recognizing limitations and keeping our eyes on our common objectives.

Nuclear disarmament cannot be imposed on the nuclear armed.

Realism is not defeatism. Diplomacy is not weakness.

Difficult times call for enlightened leadership, at the national level, and at the international level as well.

Putting the international system back on track is within our reach. World leaders, including those at the top of the multilateral system, have a duty and an irrevocable responsibility to work towards this.  

Personally, I am convinced. Perhaps, because the secret mandate I received that day in Hiroshima from a hibakusha burns in me, stronger than ever. Thank you.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

President, Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

“The best way to predict the future is to build it.” It is a truth worth remembering, especially when political division, climate change, war, hunger, and disease seem to overshadow our effort.

We have the tools to deal with these challenges. We have the knowledge, the technology, the financial means, the diplomacy and the robust international institutions.

The IAEA serves its 180 Member States with the lifesaving and lifeaffirming tools of nuclear science and technology. These contribute directly to the SDGs.

Health comes first. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 we jumped into action, harnessing our equipment and knowledge for quick and reliable testing against COVID with the portable RT-PCR machines, or “labs in a suitcase”.

We launched what would become the largest emergency operation in the history of IAEA to nearly 130 States. In so doing, we reached tens of millions of people. For some countries these kits were the first, and sometimes the only equipment they had to conduct reliable testing against COVID-19.

Drawing on this and earlier experiencessupporting the fight against Ebola, avian influenza and Zika, we launched – in that same year – the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC). Under ZODIAC we have trained people from more than 95 countries in dealing with zoonotic diseases. Laboratories in developing countries have received equipment for 3 serology and molecular diagnostic or genetic sequencing. Many of these labs are now being used to combat Mpox.

The IAEA has more than 6 decades of experience in radiotherapy and medical imaging. But today the cancer crisis is hitting low and middleincome countries particularly hard and I am determined to make a greater impact in partnership with our Member States. That is why we launched Rays of Hope: Cancer Care for All at the African Union Summit in February 2022, with firm support from the World Health Organization (WHO). Africa is where the cancer care gap is the starkest: more than 20 African nations lack even a single radiotherapy machine. So far, 86 countries have reached out to the IAEA for support under Rays of Hope and concrete actions have been initiated in more than 30 States.

Under our new initiative, NUTEC: NUclear TEchnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution, 86 States around the world are participating in marine microplastic monitoring using nuclear and isotopic tracing techniques. This will help them to put in place better-informed policies that combat the plastic pollution threatening the ocean, its plants and creatures and therefore also the communities that rely on them for their livelihoods. Some 39 States are participating in plastic recycling using radiation technology, four of which are progressing towards establishing pilot-scale plants. This will allow them to reduce plastic waste and advance towards a circular economy. The Global Marine Monitoring Network continues to grow with 99 States now benefiting from capacity building efforts.

Atoms4Food was launched by the IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in October 2023. It offers tailor-made approaches in 4 Food and Agriculture, which for years has been the number 1 area of support sought by our Member States. Atoms4Foods supports countries in using innovative nuclear techniques to enhance agricultural productivity, reduce food losses, ensure food safety, improve nutrition, and adapt to the challenges of climate change. This supports farmers as well as the fight against deadly malnutrition.

There is no development without energy. Nuclear power provides about a quarter of the world’s low-carbon electricity. Much more is needed if we are to meet the climate goals set out on the Paris Agreement. In their historic first Global Stocktake, approved at COP28 in Dubai last year, the signatory countries to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change called for accelerating the deployment of low-emission energy technologies including nuclear power. The Pact for the Future adopted yesterday, in Action 26 reaffirmed the inalienable right of all countries to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination, in conformity with their respective obligations.

Today, in addition to the 415 nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries there are 62 reactors under construction in 15 countries, most of them in Asia. The IAEA is assisting States, many of them developing countries, either with enlarging their civilian nuclear programs, or with safely embarking on them. We are working with industry and regulators on small modular reactors (SMRs) which will make more affordable the price of entry to the nuclear energy club.

The IAEA is also playing an important role in maintenance of 5 international peace and security.

Mandated by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), we conduct nuclear safeguards, making sure the increased amount of nuclear material around the world does not result in the secret proliferation of nuclear weapons. There is material for thousands of nuclear warheads in the world. Thanks to the robust international safeguards regime and our inspection system, who never stopped even during the COVID pandemic, the number of nuclear weapon States around the world is far fewer than had been feared before the IAEA was established and the NPT came into force.

The IAEA assists States in the creation and implementation of nuclearweapon-free zones, which already cover vast regions of the world. These are important steps towards a world without nuclear weapons.

Our work in Iran, Syria, other countries of the Middle East, and on different continents, contributes to international stability through nonproliferation and through the peaceful uses of nuclear technology.

Since February 2022 a large-scale conventional conflict has raged in a country with a large civilian nuclear program. Ukraine used to generate more than half its electricity from nuclear power plants. From the first months of the war, the IAEA has focused on assisting Ukraine in preventing a radiological or nuclear accident, which could have a serious transborder impact. Today, the IAEA has advisory and assistance missions stationed at all five of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, including Zaporizhzhia, which is located right at the front line. Following months 6 of negotiations and consultations, on 30 May 2023 at the UN Security Council I outlined five concrete principles to help ensure nuclear safety and security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya NPP. It received strong support from the Members of the Council.

The IAEA continues to monitor the safe discharge of water from the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station and engages in consultations with neighbouring and coastal countries with strong interest in the process. Our independent analysis and the data we publish relating to the discharge offer facts that dispel misunderstandings and fears about the process.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I firmly believe in supporting the ability of everyone, regardless of gender, to fully benefit and contribute to the IAEA’s work.

Conviction requires action. When I began my tenure as the IAEA’s Director General five years ago, one of my very first actions was to set a goal for gender parity by 2025 and to put in place the policies to achieve a more diverse workforce.

Five years ago, women represented less than 30% of the Agency. Today, they have surpassed 48%.

Mindful of the need to continue helping future generations, I also launched the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP) in 2020. It drives diversity as well as scientific and technological innovation by encouraging women to pursue a career in the nuclear field. Since its launch, hundreds of women from over 120 countries have been awarded fellowships with generous stipends. They have studied in more than 70 7 countries and have also benefited from internships in many areas of the field. Our follow-up program, named after the scientist Lise Meitner, empowers early- and mid-career through career-enhancing opportunities like site visits.

The IAEA is a key multilateral player to make the Pact of the Future a reality. Thank you.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

Let me begin by joining the General Conference in welcoming the Cook Islands and the Federal Republic of Somalia to the IAEA family.

Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since we last gathered, social, political and ecological challenges across the world have grown no lighter.  

Through the International Atomic Energy Agency’s unique mandate, we have the responsibility of addressing issues that affect all of humanity. Our priorities include reinforcing and preventing the erosion of a non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international peace and security for more than half a century; the ever-more-present existential threat of climate change, and the ongoing injustice of poverty, disease and hunger.  

Current uncertainty and political disagreement should not make us forget common priorities, even beyond immediate grievances. The work we do cannot be put on hold until geopolitical tensions ease.

The IAEA is all of us – the Secretariat and the Member States. Our safeguards inspectors are inspecting ever more nuclear facilities and material. The tasks of our safety experts range from devising safety standards used in hospitals to monitoring nuclear power plants whose safety is being compromised by war.

Every day since we last gathered a year ago, we have been delivering real progress under our flagship initiatives: Zoonotic Diseases Integrated Action (ZODIAC), Nutec Plastics, Rays of Hope, and Atoms4Food.  

It is a pleasure to update you on that progress.

Let me begin with our newest initiative, Atoms4Food. It galvanizes our efforts in Food and Agriculture, the most sought-after area of our technical cooperation. Nuclear science and its applications are potent tools helping us to tackle the hunger crisis. They are supporting farmers, communities and economies adapting to the enormous challenges of climate change. Meanwhile, they are helping to reduce the negative impact agricultural production can have on the environment, scarce water resources and fragile ecosystems. 

Atoms4Food builds on 60 years of the joint experience of the IAEA and the FAO. Since I launched the initiative together with Mr Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) last year, there has been significant interest from Member States and international partners, including multilateral development banks.

Atoms4Food offers tailor-made approaches to enhancing agricultural and livestock productivity, improving natural resources management, reducing food losses, ensuring food safety and boosting nutrition.

The initiative’s roadmap has now been finalised. During a briefing in July we underscored its strategic value. We focused on its four key pillars of engagement: awareness raising and stakeholder engagement; research and development; technical cooperation and resource building; and partnership and resource mobilization.

I encourage you to join us tomorrow and Wednesday at the Scientific Forum, which focuses on Atoms4Food – Better Agriculture for Better Life.

Water is life, and water scarcity threatens life. Last year I launched the Global Water Analysis Laboratory (GloWAL) Network to empower countries to generate the chemical, biological and isotopic water data crucial to managing their water resources. When it comes to creating a usable scientific database, a holistic and coordinated approach is key.

Over the coming five days, as we meet here in Vienna, more than 200 000 people around the world will be told they have cancer. Almost 100 000 families will face the death of a loved one who suffered from this terrible disease. Most of them will be living in low or middle-income countries. Too many will never know they have cancer because they were not able to be diagnosed. Too many will mourn a death that could have been prevented with better health care. The IAEA is helping to change this terrible reality by working with Member States to expand access to quality medical imaging and radiotherapy treatment.

In February 2022, I launched Rays of Hope: Cancer Care for All at the sidelines of the African Union summit, in close coordination with the World Health Organization. Since then, 86 countries have reached out to the Agency for support under Rays of Hope and concrete actions have been initiated in more than 30 Member States.  

Four cancer care and research institutions were recently recognized as Rays of Hope Anchor Centres, joining the five announced at last year’s General Conference.  This brings the total to nine Anchor Centres spread across all regions.

Cancer is not the only threat to our health and wellbeing. Every week we ingest and breath-in microplastics. One academic study has compared the volume to 50 plastic bags a year and another to one credit card a week. Regardless of the exact volume, what we know is, one, microplastics are where they should not be: in our ocean and the wider environment, and two, we do not yet know enough about their movement and impact.

In January I travelled to Antarctica to mark the start of a unique mission by IAEA scientists studying microplastics in this pristine environment. It is part of NUTEC Plastics, which is assisting Member States with two important tasks: to reduce the amount of plastic waste by using irradiation in recycling, and to make better-informed policy decisions by using isotopic and other techniques to study marine microplastics pollution.

Under NUTEC Plastics, we are witnessing significant global engagement, with 86 Member States participating in microplastic monitoring, and 39 in plastic recycling, four of which are progressing towards establishing pilot-scale plants. The Global Marine Monitoring Network continues to grow with 99 Member States now benefiting from capacity building efforts or participating as partners for research and development activities.

When it comes to communicable diseases, we knew COVID-19 would not be the last zoonotic disease to make headlines. In the past year Member States have continued to face zoonotic outbreaks, most recently of Mpox.

ZODIAC strengthens Member States’ preparedness. It improves their capability to detect viruses and respond quickly to outbreaks. So far 150 Member States have nominated a ZODIAC National Coordinator, and 128 have nominated a ZODIAC National Laboratory.

Under ZODIAC, the newly developed Respiratory Disease Phenotype Observatory’s platform is now being tested in collaboration with the University of Vienna.

ZODIAC has trained 1 500 people from more than 95 Member States. In addition, laboratories in 41 countries have received equipment for serology and molecular diagnostic or genetic sequencing. Equipment is planned to be delivered to a further 7 countries. 

By October 2023, the Agency had already trained scientists from Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VETLAB) Network partner laboratories in Africa and Asia, including several ZODIAC National Laboratories, to perform assays for poxviruses, including orthopoxviruses to which mpox belongs. Since then, a workshop has been delivered for affected Member States.

Emergency support has been offered, not only in response to disease outbreaks, but also in response to earthquakes and oil spills.

Many of our initiatives and much of our assistance to Member States benefit from our unique laboratories. Since the last General Conference, we have passed a major milestone.  Thanks to the leadership and vision of its supporters, we concluded our fundraising under ReNuAL2. The modernization of IAEA Nuclear Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf is progressing towards completion by the end of this year and we expect them to be operational in 2025.

Mr President,

The technical cooperation programme remains a foundational part of the IAEA and works hand in glove with the initiatives I have just outlined. In 2023, the technical cooperation programme assisted 150 countries and territories, 35 of which were least developed countries. The main areas of work were Food and Agriculture, Health and Nutrition, and Safety. The programme achieved an implementation rate of 85.5%, a slight increase on 2022. We supported almost 1 900 fellowships and scientific visits, and delivered more than 2 500 expert and lecturer assignments, as well as enabled nearly 4 000 people to take part in training courses.   

Thanks to the contributions of Member States, the TC Fund Rate of Attainment reached 97.5%.  Human capacity building is at the core of sustainable socioeconomic development, and I thank our Member States for their consistent support of the TC programme. I take this opportunity to remind Member States of the importance of making their TCF and NPC payments on time and in full. 

Following the request of the General Conference last year, planning is well under way for the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme, which will be held from 26 to 28 November 2024 under the chairmanship of Mr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ghana, and Mr Kai Mykkanen, Minister for Climate and the Environment of Finland.

I encourage Member States to participate at a high-level so that – together – we can unlock the full potential of nuclear science and technology for the benefit of all.

While nuclear science and its applications play important roles in allowing communities to adapt to the increasingly dire conditions brought on by climate change, low-carbon nuclear power plays a mitigating role by displacing large amounts of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite its proven contributions, nuclear power was struggling to gain a place at the table at major global events on energy and climate change as recently as five years ago. That has changed. The first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement agreed at COP28 in Dubai last year, showed a global consensus in favour of accelerating the deployment of nuclear power together with other zero and low-carbon energy options. At the same event more than 20 countries pledged to work towards tripling global nuclear capacity.

Agreeing that nuclear is indispensable to the green energy transition is only the first step towards adding the capacity needed to meet global climate goals.  

I have been steadfast in my commitment to helping Member States expand or introduce nuclear power programmes safely, securely, and with the relevant safeguards in place.

One manifestation of this was the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit, co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo and me, this March.

Leaders from more than 30 countries and the European Union (EU) gathered in Brussels and emphasized the importance of using nuclear power to achieve energy security, climate goals and to drive sustainable development. They identified increased financing – including through international development institutions – workforce development and more proactive support to nuclear newcomer countries as key to long-term success.

The IAEA continues, and will continue, to be part of this conversation at the highest levels, including through its work with the G20 under the presidency of Brazil, and its nuclear pavilion at COP29 taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year.

Today the 415 nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries provide approximately 374 gigawatts of installed capacity, supplying some 10% of the world’s electricity and around a quarter of all low-carbon electricity. There are 62 reactors under construction in 15 countries; these are expected to provide about 65 gigawatts of additional capacity.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Agency has revised up its projections for global nuclear electrical generating capacity by 2050.

In the high case scenario of our new outlook, which was published this morning, nuclear electrical generating capacity is projected to increase from the 372 gigawatts it was at the end of 2023 to 950 gigawatts by 2050. In this case 2050 capacity would be slightly more than two and a half times what it was in 2023. In our low case projection, capacity rises 40 percent to 514 gigawatts. Small modular reactors, or SMRs, account for about one quarter of the capacity added in the high case and for 6% in the low case scenario.

SMRs have the potential to support smaller grids in developing countries, power electricity-hungry data centres, or even provide low-carbon propulsion for commercial shipping vessels.  But they still have challenges to overcome before they can be deployed. The IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI), which I launched two years ago, has made valuable progress in facilitating industry and regulators in addressing those challenges through the harmonization and standardization of regulatory and industrial approaches. The IAEA Platform on SMRs and their Applications supports Member States interested in SMRs. This support will be augmented as we launch a series of SMR Schools with a comprehensive curriculum that provides information on generic SMR attributes, technologies, as well as legal, regulatory, and operational considerations.

More than 600 participants from national authorities, regulators, SMR vendors, end-users, the supply chain and international organizations are expected to attend the IAEA’s first-ever conference on SMRs to be held next month.

From finding new approaches to stakeholder engagement to maintaining our Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan to ensuring waste management stays top of the agenda, the IAEA continues to support Member States across many parts of the process.  

We are also looking further down the horizon, where fusion energy – the source of the sun’s energy recreated through science and engineering – holds the promise of near limitless energy.

The emergence of new players and increased investments are rapidly transforming the fusion sector. This has added to the confidence that fusion energy could be deployed sooner than previously anticipated. As progress is made coordinated and collaborative efforts among all relevant stakeholders will be needed to overcome important challenges.

In this context I am establishing the World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG). It will be a platform through which to bring together the public and private sectors, industry, academia and civil society to accelerate the fusion energy journey from research and development to demonstration and ultimately to deployment. The IAEA, together with the Government of Italy, is organizing a ministerial meeting of the WFEG on 6 November in Rome.

Mr President,

The IAEA supports Member States in putting nuclear safety, security and safeguards first. The Agency’s deep technical expertise and its laboratories provide scientific data on which important policy decisions are made. The information we provide splits fact from fiction and provides the transparency crucial to upholding the social compact between those who harness nuclear science, technology and their applications, and the public.

Japan has just completed the discharge into the sea of the 8th batch of ALPS-treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.  

Through several missions, the IAEA has concluded that Japan’s approach to the discharge is consistent with requirements of relevant international safety standards.

The IAEA is monitoring the process continuously, collecting samples and carrying out independent analysis. Our experts have confirmed that the associated tritium concentrations have been far below Japan’s operational limit and in line with international safety standards. We have made this information public on a dedicated webpage on the IAEA website.

I have visited Japan to observe the IAEA’s work, and as part of my commitment to providing transparency and facts in a process that has raised some concerns to stakeholders in Japan and the region.  

By the time this multi-year process is complete, the IAEA will have been there from before the first drop to after the last.

As with safety, nuclear security remains a top priority for Member States. This was evident in the 2 000 participants from 142 countries and 16 organizations who attended the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS), in Vienna in May.

It is also reflected in the IAEA’s new Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre (NSTDC). Since its inauguration in October, the NSTDC has hosted 50 events with more than 700 participants and 200 experts from nearly 100 States.

Mr President,

Earlier this month I travelled to Ukraine for the tenth time. I met with the President of Ukraine, Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom I discussed strengthening nuclear safety in the country.

As the war in Ukraine has continued, so has our support of the safety and security of its nuclear facilities. Our assistance has grown and adapted. For example, we are taking a more proactive stance to monitoring Ukraine’s electrical substations, which are essential to the safety of nuclear power plants.  

Since establishing a continued presence at its nuclear facilities two years ago, we have deployed more than 140 support and assistance missions to Ukraine. Agency experts continue to be deployed at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which remains in cold shutdown at the front lines of the war; at the Chornobyl site; and at Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants: Rivne, Khmelnytskyy, and South Ukraine.

As I have reported in my regular updates, the situation at the ZNPP remains precarious. Regular explosions, drone attacks, gunfire; repeated interruptions of external power supply, among other challenges, increase the risk of a nuclear accident.

We continue to deliver nuclear safety and security-related equipment, as well as medical equipment to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Agency has received its first requests for assistance in relation to the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and has agreed with Ukraine the priorities for the first phase of its support of the safety and security of radioactive sources in Ukraine.

The Agency is grateful to the 30 donor States and the European Union for their extrabudgetary contributions to support all activities related to Ukraine and would welcome further support and collaboration in this regard. The unfunded needs for the continued implementation of this comprehensive assistance programme are estimated at €23 million.

In late August I travelled to the Russian Federation and visited the Kursk NPP, where the situation is serious. Preventing a nuclear accident during this terrible war is vital, and attacking a nuclear power plant is unacceptable, regardless of where it is located.

The principle of not attacking an NPP under any circumstances, to help ensure nuclear safety and security, is absolutely applicable in this situation. The imperative to ensure the physical integrity of a nuclear power plant is valid irrespective of where the plant is situated. I appeal for maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences.

Mr President,

Since assuming office in 2019, I have been committed to strengthening the legal framework underpinning the continued verification by the Agency of the peaceful uses of nuclear material. I am pleased to report that, since the previous General Conference, an Additional Protocol (AP) has entered into force for Bolivia and an AP was signed for Nauru. Currently, 190 States have safeguards agreements in force with the Agency and 142 of these States also have APs in force. There are now only four States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty without comprehensive safeguards agreements in force. I call upon them to bring such agreements into force without delay. I also encourage States that have not yet concluded additional protocols to do so as soon as possible. And I reiterate my call for States with small quantities protocols (SQP) based on the old standard text to amend or rescind them. The old standard SQP is simply not adequate for our current safeguards system. I am pleased to be able to tell you that since the previous General Conference Fiji, Nauru and Sierra Leone have amended their original SQP and Bolivia rescinded its SQP. In addition, Saudi Arabia has informed the Agency of its decision to rescind the original SQP. An agreement by exchange of letters to rescind the original SQP was reached with Saudi Arabia, which will enter into force on 31 December this year. At present, 81 States have an operative SQP based on the revised standard text. Bringing into force CSAs for the remaining four States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty without comprehensive safeguards agreements yet in force, concluding more APs and amending the original SQPs for the remaining 18 States will continue to be a very important area of our future work.

Over the past decade, the amount of nuclear material under IAEA safeguards has seen an increase of 25%. This trend will continue and therefore we must continue to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of Agency safeguards.

The Secretariat has continued to engage Australia and Brazil on safeguards-relevant aspects related to their respective naval nuclear propulsion programmes. As I have made clear many times, the Agency will act in strict accordance with its safeguards and non-proliferation mission on the basis of our statutory mandate and the relevant safeguards agreements.

In relation to IAEA verification activities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, during my tenure I have continued to report to the IAEA Board of Governors on both Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement and verification and monitoring undertaken in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231.

With regard to the NPT Safeguards Agreement, it is a matter of concern that significant safeguards issues remain outstanding after a number of years and that we appear to have reached an impasse. Iran’s implementation of the activities set out in the Joint Statement between myself and Iran in March last year has stopped. However, my correspondence so far with the new government has been constructive and open and I hope to visit the country in the not-too-distant future.

Following on from the verification role the IAEA played in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), I remain actively engaged and the IAEA remains ready to play its indispensable part as the matter evolves. It is critical that the Agency is able to provide credible assurances that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

The IAEA continues to monitor the DPRK nuclear programme. We have observed activities at several sites consistent with the DPRK’s continuation of its illegal nuclear programme, a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions that is deeply regrettable. I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to cooperate promptly with the Agency in the full and effective implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country. The Agency continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme.

I travelled to the Syrian Arab Republic in March and met with President Bashar -al-Assad in March. Syria and the Agency now are in the process of clarifying pending issues related to past activities in Syria that necessitate further inquiry to exclude any proliferation concern. I will report on the Agency’s findings in due course. I welcome Syria’s renewed engagement with the Agency in relation to the unresolved safeguards issues and am pleased that after 15 years of stagnation we are making gradual and prudent progress.

At its 67th regular session in 2023, the Agency’s General Conference adopted resolution GC(67)/RES/14, entitled “Status of Palestine in the IAEA”. In its operative paragraph 5, the resolution requested the Director General to inform the General Conference about its implementation.

I would like to inform Member States that, since the adoption of the resolution, the designation “State of Palestine” is being employed in the official documents issued by the Secretariat and on the nameplate used in all meetings under the Agency’s auspices. 

With regard to the resolution’s operative paragraph 3 on conferring upon the State of Palestine in its capacity as observer, and as set forth in the Annex to that resolution, additional rights and privileges of participation in the work of the General Conference, the State of Palestine will enjoy these additional rights and privileges conferred upon it by the General Conference as of this year’s 68th regular session of the General Conference.

I also welcome and applaud the efforts of the Chairman of the Board regarding understandings related to the Board proceedings in accordance with the recommendation of the Conference.

Mr President,

Building up a nuclear workforce for the future will be key to meeting global climate and economic goals. The Agency projects that more than 4 million professionals, from welders to scientists, will support the industry by 2050. Some one million people will be required just to fill the gap left by retirements over the coming decade.

It is illogical, therefore, that there remains a significant gender imbalance. Through the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP), the IAEA is doing its part to change this. The MSCFP supports women at the Master’s degree level both financially and through internship and networking opportunities.

Applications for the coming cycle will be accepted until the end of this month. I encourage you to spread the word.

Since the launch of the MSCFP in 2020, scholarships have been awarded to 560 women from more than 120 Member States studying in 72 countries.

The MSCFP is made possible by contributions from Member States and partners, and we continue to rely on your support.

As a natural follow-on to the MSCFP, the Lise Meitner programme helps to level the playing field by giving women working in the nuclear field opportunities that will support their advancement. So far, participants in the programme have visited North Carolina State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory in the United States of America, and a variety of nuclear energy sites in the Republic of Korea.

In March more than 400 current and future female nuclear professionals gathered at IAEA headquarters for dynamic interactions with senior nuclear experts, industry, and recruitment agencies. Over the two days filled with panel discussions, presentations and career talks, MSCFP students and alumnae, and Lise Meitner Programme (LMP) participants from more than 100 countries, exchanged their experiences and aspirations.

At the start of my tenure as Director General, I set a goal for gender parity by 2025 and put in place the policies towards achieving it. Today the share of women serving in the professional or higher category has surpassed 48%, up from 43% a year ago and a marked improvement from below 30% at the initiative’s start.

We will continue to work to attract, recruit and retain women from across all professional fields, maximizing the IAEA’s talent pool and creating the conditions for gender equality.

In our recruitment process the principles of efficiency, technical competence, and integrity are given due regard, as is the importance of recruiting staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

Mr President,

The Programme and Budget Committee recommended for approval the proposed Agency’s Budget Update for 2025, representing a strong vote of confidence in the work of the Agency. The Committee also recommended the transmission of the Agency’s financial statements to the General Conference.

Let me emphasise that your timely payment of assessed contributions is crucial to our performance. I thank those who have already paid their assessed contributions for 2024 and encourage others to do so at the earliest. in a timely manner.

In closing, I would like to say that each year the General Conference allows me the opportunity to meet with you, to listen to your priorities, and to gather your feedback. It also offers me the chance to acknowledge and thank you for your collaboration and support of our important mandate. Thank you.

I would like to thank our host country, the Republic of Austria, for supporting us steadfastly in our work. I would also like to thank the Principality of Monaco for hosting our unique Marine Environment Laboratories. Finally, I want to commend the Agency’s staff whose unwavering commitment to assisting Member States and fulfilling the IAEA’s unique mandate is what turns Atoms for Peace and Development from a slogan to reality.

As we look forward to the year ahead, we can draw confidence from our ingenuity, collaboration, and achievements of the past years, during which we rose to the challenges of the pandemic and difficult financial and geopolitical situations ably to do our part in making the world a better place.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

I thank the President of the Security Council for allowing me the opportunity to update you on the IAEA’s activities concerning nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine. I also thank the Council for their continuing support of the IAEA’s efforts.

It has been more than two years since the war began, the first ever to be fought amid the facilities of a major nuclear power programme.

The IAEA has been monitoring the situation closely and assisting Ukraine every day since the start of the war. IAEA staff are continuously present, monitoring the situation at all five of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, including at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which remains under Russian operational control.

Today my statement will focus on the recent grave violations of the five concrete principles that I first established in this very chamber on 30 May. These five concrete principles are there to prevent a nuclear accident and to maintain the integrity of the Zaporizhzhya NPP.  Let me remind them what they are:  

1. There should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant, in particular targeting the reactors, spent fuel storage, other critical infrastructure, or personnel;
2. ZNPP should not be used as storage or a base for heavy weapons (i.e. multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems and munitions, and tanks) or military personnel that could be used for an attack from the plant;
3. Off-site power to the plant should not be put at risk. To that effect, all efforts should be made to ensure off-site power remains available and secure at all times;
4. All structures, systems and components essential to the safe and secure operation of ZNPP should be protected from attacks or acts of sabotage;
5. No action should be taken that undermines these principles.

On 30 May last year I said here that observing these principles was essential to avoid the danger of a catastrophic nuclear incident and that I had respectfully and solemnly asked both sides to commit to them.

At our meeting last May distinguished Members of the Security Council and Ukraine clearly supported those principles.

Nevertheless, Madame President, over the past ten days, the first of these principles has been violated repeatedly in what marks a step-change increase in risk to nuclear safety and security at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

On Sunday, 7 April, the International Support and Assistance Mission to ZNPP (ISAMZ) confirmed the first attacks since November 2022 to directly target ZNPP.

The ISAMZ team was able to inspect the location of one direct strike at the apex of the containment dome of the Unit 6 reactor building.  Whilst the damage to the structure is superficial, the attack sets a very dangerous precedent of the successful targeting of the reactor containment. 

The other two attacks were in close proximity to the main reactor buildings and resulted in at least one casualty.

Agency experts at the site have been informed by ZNPP of a drone strike against the site’s oxygen and nitrogen production facility; two attacks on the training centre located just outside the site perimeter and reports of a drone shot down above the turbine hall of Unit 6. 

These reckless attacks must cease immediately. Though, fortunately,  they have not led to a radiological incident this time, they significantly increase the risk at Zaporizhzhya NPP, where nuclear safety is already compromised.

I am not only concerned about the attacks themselves, but also the context in which they have occurred. For several months before these direct attacks there had already been an increase in isolated drone incursions in the vicinity of the facility and in the nearby town of Energodar.

In other areas of nuclear safety degradation, the plant is currently relying on just two lines of external power. There have been at least four occasions in the past year when the plant has had only one line of external power supply, with the precarity lasting for periods of up to four months.

Let me put it plainly. Two years of war are weighing heavily on nuclear safety at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Every one of the IAEA’s 7 pillars of nuclear safety and security have been compromised.  We cannot sit by and watch as the final weight tips the finely balanced scale.   

Even though the plant’s six reactors are now in cold shutdown, with the final unit shifting into that status two days ago following the IAEA’s recommendation, the potential dangers of a major nuclear accident remain very real.

The Agency will continue closely to follow the operational status of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and provide technically viable alternatives in a context of rapid changes and challenges.

Our work at this facility remains essential. This has been recognized by all, irrespective of their side in this conflict. But to be effective, the IAEA teams need timely access to assess the condition of the plant and evaluate the cumulative impact that more than 26 months in a war zone have had on nuclear safety.

Madame President,

We are getting dangerously close to a nuclear accident. We must not allow complacency to let a role of the dice decide what happens tomorrow. We must do everything in our power today to minimize the risk of an accident.

The five principles established in this very chamber one year ago must be adhered to. They are there to prevent a major nuclear accident with potentially significant radiological consequences.

The latest attacks represent a flagrant violation of these crucial principles and must stop.

I am asking this Council for its steadfast support for the five principles and the IAEA’s seven pillars of nuclear safety and security which they help to underpin. And I am asking for your continued support of the IAEA’s role monitoring the situation, in the service of the international community.  

Despite huge challenges, the IAEA has kept open the indispensable lines of communication and will continue doing so. The support of your nations and of the Council as a whole is a necessity.

I thank the Council for inviting me today, thereby demonstrating your continuing commitment to this critical issue.

The IAEA and myself remain at your disposal to assist this body in its mission to preserve international peace and security.

Thank you, Madame President.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Achieving sustainable economic development and averting the devastating consequences of unchecked climate change will require making use of all low carbon energy sources, including nuclear power.

Studies confirm that the goal of global net zero carbon emissions can only be reached by 2050 with swift, sustained and significant investment in nuclear energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change see nuclear as important part of the solution to climate change and energy insecurity.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, nuclear power has avoided the release of some 30 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases. Today, it provides a quarter of the world’s clean electricity and contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Resilient and robust nuclear power has the potential to play a wider role in the quest towards net zero carbon emissions, while ensuring the highest level of nuclear safety and security. It can help to decarbonize district heating, desalination, industry processes and hydrogen production.

Nuclear power emits no greenhouse gasses when it is produced and contributes to energy security and the stability of the power grid, while facilitating the broader uptake of solar and wind power. Locally, it cuts air pollution, which is one of today’s biggest public health crises causing the death of 8 million people a year. The responsible advancement of innovative technologies, including small modular reactors, aims to make nuclear power easier to build, more flexible to deploy and more affordable, which is of particular importance to developing countries.

To build a low carbon bridge to the future will require that we keep the operating nuclear power plants serving us today. Continuous plant life management and refurbishment ensure the ongoing safety and reliability of our existing fleet, allowing it to provide decarbonized energy to the electric grid and other sectors. On the occasion of the 28th Session of the Conference Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates, the IAEA and its Member States that are nuclear energy producers and those working with the IAEA to promote the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy acknowledge that all available low emission technologies should be recognized and actively supported.

Net zero needs nuclear power.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

Mr Chairperson,

All of us are following with great concern current conflicts and the IAEA is playing its role towards peace and security where it can. Today I would like to begin my remarks by addressing another tragedy, which affects many IAEA Member States. Over the past three years the number of people who go hungry in the world has increased by almost a fifth. Today it stands at more than 700 million. Hunger is still on the rise in many regions, including Western Asia, the Caribbean, and all of Africa. It is an acute problem, especially in conflict zones, as well as a long-term issue that is being made worse because of climate change. 

Nuclear technology and science offer some of the best tools available to improve nutrition and food security. For decades Member States have relied on the IAEA to put them to use. I am determined to maximize the impact of our assistance to Member States through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. That is why I launched Atoms4Food, together with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, during the World Food Forum in Rome last month.

Food security is a top priority for our Member States and many have voiced interest in this initiative. Last week, the Secretariat convened a briefing for Member States to provide more information about the seven essential services Atoms4Food will provide.

I would like to thank Member States for their continuing strong support for the Agency’s technical cooperation activities. Our technical cooperation programme is a major vehicle for the delivery of IAEA development support to Member States, and a core component of ‘Atoms for Peace and Development’. It is also an important channel for the delivery of support under the IAEA major initiatives ZODIAC, NUTEC Plastics, Rays of Hope and Atoms4Food.

We have worked closely with Member States to develop the new TC programme, building on Country Programme Frameworks, and on national and regional development priorities. We continue to seek opportunities for partnerships with other organizations and with non-traditional partners and development agencies.

For the 2024–2025 TC cycle, 458 new projects have been proposed – 397 national, 51 regional and 10 interregional projects. Seventy percent of the proposed programme focuses on food and agriculture, health and nutrition, and safety, reflecting the priorities of Member States.

As of the end of September this year, we have received €83 million in contributions to the TCF, which represents a rate of attainment of 88.6%. I encourage all Member States to pay their contributions to the TCF in full and on time. I also invite Member States that are in a position to do so to support the programme with extrabudgetary contributions.

Mr Chairperson,

The initiatives we have implemented continue to make tangible progress. The IAEA has formally established the first five Rays of Hope Anchor Centres. These regional leaders in cancer care in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan and Türkiye will work with us to build the capacities of neighbouring countries and increase access to cancer treatment.

Last week, I attended a ceremony to lay a foundation stone of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) first public radiotherapy centre. Afterwards, I met with the countries’ president His Excellency Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo to discuss the IAEA’s assistance to DRC, which was one of the first Member States to work with us under this flagship initiative. Cancer claims too many lives, and the IAEA is changing this, one radiotherapy centre at a time. 

NUTEC Plastics, the Agency’s flagship initiative to monitor plastic pollution of the ocean and reduce plastic waste through improved recycling processes, continues to strengthen public-private collaborations. Two national stakeholder meetings in Thailand and the Philippines promoted the benefits of radiation technology in plastics recycling to potential private end-users. Meanwhile, in October, the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco inaugurated a NUTEC Plastics reference laboratory for the preparation and chemical analysis of seawater and sediment samples. This new lab will improve our research capability, advance our knowledge, and increase our training capacity to monitor marine microplastic pollution.  

Engagement in ZODIAC continues to grow as does its collaboration with key partner organizations. The IAEA participates regularly in Joint External Evaluations organized by the World Health Organization to assess the capacities of countries to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to public health risks. So far, we have taken part in missions in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania (Zanzibar) and Thailand, which also offered an opportunity to promote ZODIAC to national authorities.

Many of our initiatives rely on our laboratories in Seibersdorf, which are such a unique asset to our Member States.

Last month we signed a contract to build new greenhouses for our Seibersdorf Nuclear Applications laboratories.  All major construction elements under the ReNuAL2 modernization initiative are now under contract.  With that, I am pleased to announce we have completed fundraising for ReNuAL2.  To celebrate the achievement and to recognize recent contributions from Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland, and the United States, we are planning a ReNuAL2 side event on the margins of the March 2024 Board of Governors meeting. We will also ceremonially close our ReNuAL2 donor display at that time.  I thank Member States for their strong and consistent support and the co-chairs of Germany and South Africa for their adept facilitation.

With regards to emergency assistance following the devastating earthquake that hit Syria and Türkiye in February, the Agency continues to procure and deliver medical equipment. Currently the value amounts to more than €2m in total.

Mr Chairperson,

The IAEA has an important role to play in assisting countries towards their priority objectives of addressing climate change and energy security. Achieving these two important goals globally requires steadfast resolve and a long-term outlook that includes both nuclear fission and fusion energy.

Last month, I opened the 29th International Fusion Energy Conference in London, with more than 2,000 participants from more than 80 countries. Fusion scientists and engineers are making significant strides and the interest and investment in the sector are growing. I am determined that the IAEA should continue to play its central role in this field as this promising technology enters its next chapter towards providing the abundant low-carbon energy the world needs. During the conference, we released the first IAEA World Fusion Outlook, a global reference for authoritative information on the latest developments in fusion energy.  I also announced the inaugural meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group, which will convene in 2024. This group will bring together, not just fusion scientists and engineers from laboratories and experimental centres, but also policy makers, financiers, regulators and private companies.

Artificial Intelligence is bringing new opportunities to the nuclear sector, where its use will continue to grow. At the same time, the rapid development and deployment of AI present challenges to information security, privacy, public safety and global security. These matters are receiving increased attention in international forums, with many suggesting the need to establish some form of AI governance.

Last month, on the margins of the 67th General Conference, we took a closer look at the role of AI in nuclear fields, with particular focus on its use in diagnostic imaging and nuclear power plant operation. AI’s power to help us address climate change will be a topic of discussion at the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) next month.

More and more countries are turning to nuclear power to address energy security and climate change. But the full potential of nuclear as part of a low-carbon energy mix, is still too often overlooked in a world where financial incentives remain unevenly distributed among low-carbon technologies. That is why IAEA and dozens of Member States who support the use of nuclear power, will make a clear and bold statement at COP28: Net zero needs nuclear power. Together we will assert that all available low-emission technologies should be recognized and actively supported.

On 21 and 22 March leaders from around the world will gather at a Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels to highlight the role of nuclear energy in addressing the global challenges to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Hosted jointly by the IAEA and Belgium, the Summit will be the highest-level meeting to date exclusively focused on the topic of nuclear energy. It will consist of a segment with heads of state and government as well as scientific and policy debates. The Summit will also showcase the IAEA’s Atoms4NetZero initiative, which provides decision makers with comprehensive, data-driven energy scenario modelling that includes the full potential of nuclear power in contributing to net zero emissions. This important initiative can fill a gap in studies used by governments and financial institutions in support of new nuclear power projects. I encourage those Member States that support nuclear energy, to participate in this historic summit at the highest level of government.

Today, 412 nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries make up more than 370 gigawatts of installed capacity, providing almost 10 per cent of the world’s total electricity and a quarter of its low-carbon supply. Nuclear electricity generating capacity will more than double by 2050 in our high case projection, according to the IAEA’s latest outlook on the future of nuclear power, released at last month’s 2nd International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power.

Mr Chairperson,

A total of 75 missions comprising 168 Agency staff members have been deployed as part of the continued presence at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine.

IAEA staff continued to monitor and assess the situation at Ukraine’s nuclear power sites against the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict and to observe the five concrete principles for protecting the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant remains challenging, with six out of the Seven Pillars compromised either fully or partially. Issues concerning staffing at the site, the conduct of regular maintenance activities, and special measures taken for securing stable cooling water supply, pose continued and significant risks to the overall nuclear safety and security of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

There were no indications of non-observance of the five concrete principles at the ZNPP. However, limitations on the timely and unrestricted access by the Agency’s experts have affected the ability of the Agency to fully confirm all five concrete principles are being observed at all times.

I note in my report that very recently there has been a positive development in this regard and I strongly encourage the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant site to ensure that timely access and information sharing takes place regularly.

Since September, the Agency has arranged 10 deliveries of nuclear safety and security equipment to Ukraine. With this, since the start of the armed conflict, a total of 32 deliveries ensured over €7 million worth of equipment reached different organizations in Ukraine to support the safe and secure operation of facilities and activities amid the armed conflict.

During these months, the Agency initiated delivery of the mental health support programme for staff at Ukrainian nuclear power plants, assessing the needs of mental health support teams at each NPP and initiating a series of workshops focusing on trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and the strain of living with the armed conflict.

The Agency is grateful to all 23 donor states and the European Union for their extrabudgetary contributions to support all of the Ukraine-related activities and would welcome any further support in this regard to help meet the remaining needs shared during my statement at the last Board meeting.

At Seibersdorf, the IAEA’s new Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre is fully operational. Since its inauguration on 3 October, nine training courses and meetings have been held in its premises, attended by about 260 trainees and participants.

This month, invitations were sent to Ministers for the fourth International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS) to be held in Vienna 20-24 May 2024. I urge all Member States to participate at the highest level possible.

With regards to the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the Agency is providing continuous live data from Japan on the release of treated water from the site. Currently the data that we are receiving is within the expected levels.

Since the discharge began, our experts have been at the site to ensure the relevant international safety standards continue to be applied. All our independent sampling and analysis of the seawater near the power plant continue to show that tritium levels are far below Japan’s regulatory limits. Our independent monitoring and corroboration activities will continue during the entirety of the discharge, with our first Task Force Mission since the start of the discharge and inter-laboratory comparison sampling having taken place in the last few weeks.

Mr Chairperson,

Regarding the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, you have before you my latest report on Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015).

You will note that Iran’s stockpiles of uranium enriched up to 5%, enriched up to 20% and enriched up to 60% – high enriched uranium – have all increased since we met in September with the increase of the 60% continuing at the same rate as I reported at the time of the last Board.  

You also have before you my report on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. I regret that no further progress has been made in implementing the Joint Statement signed in Tehran on 4 March.

Iran also still needs to provide the Agency with technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at Varamin and Turquzabad and inform the Agency of the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of contaminated equipment. It also still needs to resolve the discrepancy in the nuclear material balance evaluation relating to the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) and to implement modified Code 3.1 which is a legal obligation for Iran.

These outstanding safeguards issues stem from Iran’s obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and need to be resolved for the Agency to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

In addition, I am seriously concerned that the implementation of the Joint Statement of 4 March 2023 has come to a standstill. A way forward must include an honest and cooperative implementation of the commitments we agreed.

I continue to strongly condemn Iran’s sudden withdrawal of the designations of several experienced inspectors. Iran’s stance is unprecedented and contrary to the cooperation that is required and expected in order to facilitate the effective implementation of its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and in contradiction of the spirit of cooperation agreed in the Joint Statement of March 2023. I note Vice-President Eslami’s reply to a letter from me saying he is exploring possibilities to address the request mentioned in my letter, and I express the hope that this matter will be resolved promptly.  

Mr Chairperson,

The Board has before it for approval a draft Additional Protocol for Nauru.

The number of States with safeguards agreements in force remains 190 with 141 of these States having brought additional protocols into force. I call upon the remaining four States Parties to the NPT without comprehensive safeguards agreements to bring such agreements into force without delay. I also encourage States that have not yet concluded additional protocols to do so as soon as possible, and I reiterate my call for States with small quantities protocols (SQP) based on the old standard text to amend or rescind them. At present 78 States have an operative SQP based on the revised standard text. Let me assure you that I will continue to use my good offices to strengthen the indispensable legal framework on which the continued peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology rest.

Since my report to the Board and General Conference in August this year we have continued to monitor the DPRK nuclear programme.

The Nuclear Test Site at Punggye-ri remains prepared to support a new nuclear test, the conduct of which would contravene UN Security Council resolutions and would be a cause for serious concern.

Activities are continuing at the Yongbyon site. The 5MW(e) reactor was shut down for three to four weeks during September and early-October 2023, however there are now indications of operation. There are also indications of ongoing operation of the reported centrifuge enrichment facility and its annex.

Increased levels of activity have been observed at, and near, the LWR, and since mid-October 2023, a strong water outflow has been observed from the LWR cooling system. These observations are consistent with the commissioning of the LWR.

I repeat the obvious, the continuation of the DPRK’s nuclear programme is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable. I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to cooperate promptly with the Agency in the full and effective implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country. The Agency continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme.

Last week, the Agency participated in the fourth session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, held between 13 and 17 November at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Following past practice, we shared, in the background documentation and discussions during the session, the Agency’s previously undertaken work on the application of nuclear safeguards in the Middle East as well as our experience regarding the Agency’s role related to nuclear-weapon-free zones established in other regions of the world. To avoid factual mistakes and misinterpretations about the mandate and function of the IAEA in nuclear verification, we also provided conference participants with technical clarifications.

Mr Chairperson,

The second cohort of the IAEA’s Lise Meitner Programme was hosted last month by the Oak Ridge and Idaho National Laboratories, in the United States of America. Named after Meitner, the eminent Austrian-Swedish physicist, the Lise Meitner Programme provides early and mid‑career women professionals in the nuclear field with opportunities to enhance their careers. The next professional visit is expected to take place in the Republic of Korea next year. Both the Lise Meitner Programme and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme are funded by extra-budgetary and in-kind contributions. I encourage Member States to continue supporting both these programmes, including by hosting Lise Meitner Programme visits.

By the end of this year there will be more than 550 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellows. Many of them will gather for the first time in Vienna for International Women’s Day 2024. The event, which will also include women from the Lise Meitner programme, will occur on 7 and 8 March.

This will be an opportunity for Member States to meet with the indispensable community of female nuclear experts and express their ongoing support for their and our efforts.

Within the Secretariat, we remain on track to achieve gender parity by 2025. By the end of the third quarter, overall representation of women in the Professional and higher categories at the Secretariat was just shy of 44%.

Diversity is core to the IAEA and I am pleased to deliver to you my report on Multilingualism at the IAEA. It highlights the commitment of the Secretariat to facilitating communication with Member States and fostering the exchange – in multiple languages – of scientific and technical information, as well as the considerable progress achieved since my previous report in 2021. For example, the 2022 edition of the IAEA Safeguards Glossary was made available in all IAEA languages in September this year.

Mr Chairperson,

In September I reported to the Board that the Agency was facing a serious liquidity challenge due to delays in receiving Regular Budget assessed contributions from Member States, and I underlined the importance of paying any outstanding assessments without further delay to avoid the situation impacting our programmes.

As a result of my urgent calls, I am pleased to report Member States have made significant payments of Regular Budget assessed contributions, and that with these payments we are now in a much better position to end 2023 without interruption to our operations. The Secretariat appreciates the assistance of those Member States that have paid, including those that have paid in advance, in keeping the Agency’s operations running. 

However, this is still not a permanent solution. Because we are still waiting to receive outstanding Regular Budget contributions totalling approximately €125 million, we could again find ourselves in a precarious situation in which delays in payment impact the normal operations of the Agency. This situation may repeat itself in 2024 if these payments, or those of the 2024 assessments, are not received in a timely manner.

The Agency needs a stable and predictable financial foundation for the Regular Budget to meet its statutory and legal obligations. The Regular Budget underpins all programmes, including Safeguards and Technical Cooperation.  The Agency is doing all that it can in this regard.  Close coordination with Member States by the Division of Budget and Finance is continuing, and it is most appreciated that Member States continue to work with them, as they forecast expected contributions to assess the need for additional mitigation measures in 2024.

The lack of sufficient working capital is also adding to the instability of the Agency’s liquidity situation.  The Agency’s Working Capital Fund has been at the same level, €15.2 million, since 1997, which does not cover even half a month of current expenses.  In contrast, the standard for UN organizations is that it covers at least one month. The Secretariat is therefore continuing to analyse possible mitigation measures to address the liquidity issue. We will continue to consult with Member States to work to identify possible solutions.

I appeal to those Member States with outstanding contributions to settle their overdue payments as soon as possible, and I call on all Member States to honour their obligation to pay their assessed contributions in a timely manner.

At a time of many uncertainties and challenges across the world, the IAEA is an indispensable asset to the international community. You have my assurance that we are doing everything possible to maximize the benefit we provide in all our endeavours.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, 

It’s good to be with you at this very important World Food Forum, 2023. I want to thank Director-General Qu Dongyu for inviting me to launch, here today, the IAEA/FAO joint initiative, Atoms4Food. 

It fits well into the theme of “Innovations Breakthroughs” because it is a concrete, action-oriented response to our shared goals of eradicating poverty, ending hunger and malnutrition, fighting climate change and adapting to its consequences. 

Before I explain what Atoms4Food is all about, I would like to say a few words about the IAEA and FAO’s indispensable collaboration. 

The FAO is one of our closest partners. For almost 60 years, the two organizations have run the FAO/IAEA Centre for Nuclear Techniques. 

Our collaboration is exemplified by complementary mandates, common targets, joint programming, co-funding and coordinated management. 

FAO and IAEA staff are based at the IAEA’s Headquarters in Vienna and work on cutting-edge research at our unique laboratories in nearby Seibersdorf. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

I do not need to repeat the dire statistics about food insecurity and climate change that others have already elaborated on. The bottom line is this: We need to use every tool we have to grow more highly-nutritious food in an environmentally sustainable way. 

Nuclear techniques and applications are powerful tools with which we can do just that, and Atoms4Food will maximize their positive impact. 

Ensuring food security and healthy diets amid a variety of shifting challenges and the enormous burden of climate change is a complex endeavour with many moving parts. 

It requires a multi-disciplinary approach that is in harmony with other global initiatives, such as the One Health Approach and FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative. 

And it must be based on careful assessment of prevailing capacities and needs amid a true partnership with Member States. 

In very close collaboration with each of our partner countries, Atoms4Food will provide seven specific services: 

1. The Atoms4Food Assessment Mission will map out a country’s status, needs and activities to determine priorities and develop tailor-made solutions. 

2. The Atoms4Food crop variety improvement service will use plant mutation breading to develop better crop varieties based on an assessment of the country’s major crops, agricultural zones, diseases and pests, farmer and consumer preferences, and prevailing gaps in capacities. 

3. The Atoms4Food soil and water management, and crop nutrition service will use the precision of nuclear and isotopic science to gather information about soil fertility, major crops, and their 
average yield. We’ll look at the availability of fertilizer and water irrigation systems, as well as the farming practices used for each crop. 

Getting the balance right here, can vastly improve yields. 

4. The Atoms4Food animal production and health service will develop carefully calibrated nutritional packages to improve animal production. This will be done following a country assessment 
of the current epidemiological situation of animal diseases; interventions and services already in place; and gaps that still need to be filled. 

5. The Atoms4Food insect pest control service will use approaches such as the Sterile Insect Technique to reduce the populations of harmful pests that destroy crops and carry diseases. It will be informed by a careful assessment of the pest and control situation in the country. This technique already has a long history of proven results. 

6. The Atoms4Food food safety and control service will assess and widen the capacity of a county to use tools like food irradiation technology to improve the longevity and safety of food for domestic consumption and exports. 

7. The Atoms4Food public health nutrition service will support countries in assessing and improving the nutritional value of foods and diet quality by using stable isotope techniques. 

Dear colleagues, 

This is Atoms4Food! 

Atoms4Food aims for Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. The FAO and IAEA are ready. We will be delivering it on the ground very soon. 

I call upon all those in a position to support us, to do so. Atoms4Food is action, not words. It is less hunger, less poverty, with dignity and equality for all.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

Four years ago, when the first IAEA Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power took place, the world was in a different place. Nuclear power, by and large, was still struggling for a place at the table at the world’s most important discussions on energy production and climate change.

Today, the outlook for nuclear power is brighter, and nuclear power has pulled up a chair at many of the most important of these global discussions, including the UN Climate Change Conference, where we will again be present this year with our dedicated pavilion to make the case for nuclear energy in both climate mitigation and adaptation.

More and more countries are considering or already embarking upon the introduction or expansion of nuclear power, amid mounting concerns not only over climate change, but also energy access and security of energy supply.

This growing global support for nuclear energy is reflected in our latest annual projections for nuclear power in the coming three decades.

In our new outlook for global capacity for nuclear electricity generation by 2050, published this morning, the Agency has revised up its projections for the third successive year. Our high case scenario now sees nuclear installed capacity in 2050 more than doubling to 890 gigawatts electric, compared with today’s 369 gigawatts.

Our projections this year represent an almost 25% increase from our outlook in 2020.

Our new projections are only slightly above what the IEA, in its latest Net Zero Roadmap released last week, sees as the required contribution of nuclear power to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. (870 gigawatts).

We will have a chance to hear directly from IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, who will deliver our keynote address.

What is driving the Agency’s projections? Besides climate change, amid today’s geopolitical challenges, countries increasingly recognize that nuclear energy is a key contributor to the security of energy supply. As a result, many of them are extending the lifetime of their existing reactors, considering or launching construction of advanced reactor designs and/or looking into small modular reactors, including for non-electric applications.

This last point is significant. Beyond providing clean 24/7 electricity production, nuclear power can also make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors such as industry, transportation and buildings, which together represent 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

It can do this by providing process heat for industries such as cement and steel making, or clean hydrogen for a variety of applications, and district heating for buildings. Nuclear can also help address the growing need for fresh drinking water by lowering the carbon footprint of the desalination process.

SMRs [Small Modular Reactors], through their greater flexibility in deployment and operations, can contribute to decarbonizing these sectors beyond electricity. And many other cutting-edge advances in nuclear energy such as AI, robotics and 3D printing can also contribute, as was highlighted at our recent Scientific Forum, Nuclear Innovations for Net Zero, held during the General Conference last month.

Public opinion is swinging towards nuclear and we must act on this. Being an environmentalist and pro-nuclear used to be seen as an oxymoron.

Seventy years after US President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous “Atoms for Peace” speech, it is time to fulfil that vision.  

The tide is turning. This should give clear-minded policymakers and financial decision makers the courage to act.

But here, I believe things are moving too slowly. We cannot afford to be slow.  Every day we see the urgency of our task in receding glaciers and shorelines, and we hear it from island nations and developing countries most directly affected by climate change.

The transition to a green economy risks being more disruptive and more expensive (and therefore more politically treacherous) without nuclear. We are already getting a taste of the sociopolitical backlash today. 

“Nuclear is too expensive and to slow” is a false narrative. “Nuclear energy or renewables” is a false narrative. Those false narratives are to the detriment of everyone, especially when it comes to achieving a fair and enabling investment environment for new nuclear projects.

We are not at a level playing field yet when it comes to financing nuclear projects. I believe international financial institutions, development banks, and private banks and investors should take a fresh look at this issue. We know that nuclear power is a winning investment for the environment and for energy access and security of supply. It can also be a winning financial investment over the long term. We need to think long-term and we need to realize that what may once have been a “courageous” political decision is now one increasingly backed by the public. In survey after survey, the general public is saying more loudly every year that they believe nuclear energy must be part of the climate change solution.

When it comes to financing, decisions need to be taken from a technologically agnostic view that is based on science, fact and reason. Outdated ideology and misplaced fear should not stand in the way. Nuclear power needs to be regarded simply as a viable low-carbon technology.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) first stock-take of the 2015 Paris Agreements was released recently. It is still in process, but the Synthesis Report includes civil nuclear energy as an area in which Parties should facilitate, accelerate and strengthen international investment. It will be telling to see whether it remains in the final report. I very much hope it does.

The new EU taxonomy takes us in the right direction, but we are not fully there yet and this conference will seek to shed light on what more needs to be done.

Governments and investors need comprehensive, science-based data to make informed choices about major infrastructure projects. But they are working with a data hole in their calculations of how we get to net zero! Too often, nuclear power is missing from energy scenario studies used by governments and investors. This, despite nuclear’s proven role in mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security and sustainable development. This is where the IAEA’s Atoms4NetZero initiative, which I launched at COP 27 last year, comes in.

This year at COP, countries using nuclear energy will gather around the global convening point of the IAEA to state the reality: they use, they will continue to use, and they will increase the contribution of nuclear energy to the energy mix.

Atoms4NetZero includes nuclear power in comprehensive, data-driven energy scenario modelling aimed at achieving net zero emissions. This includes using nuclear power not only for electricity generation, but to help decarbonize those vast hard-to-abate sectors.

Without such credible data, governments and investors may continue to sit on the side lines when it comes to financing new nuclear projects. But with the science-based data, they will be able to make the case for nuclear’s role in getting them to net zero. With that data, they will be able to construct their investment case.

I urge you to make use of this important initiative, to build the data-based foundation that can drive forward your nuclear power projects.

Over the course of this week, you will hear more about Atoms4NetZero and more about many other related topics including the non-electric applications of nuclear energy.

We will explore how nuclear power is needed now more than ever to support the massive rollout of intermittent renewable sources that so many countries are undertaking.

We will look further at ways to improve the competitiveness of the nuclear industry, so that it can more consistently build on time and to budget; how governments can help to ensure a stable and enabling policy framework for nuclear investments; and how regulators can continue to provide their vital oversight while also providing clear regulatory frameworks.

After all, basic access to energy remains a challenge for many countries. So, it is no surprise that around half of the nuclear newcomers the IAEA works with are from Africa alone. These countries will need support and access to financing to achieve energy security through nuclear power. This too we will examine.

If SMRs and advanced reactors are to make a real contribution to net zero, they must be safely and securely deployed in a timely manner. The IAEA’s safety standards and security guidance provide the basis for governments to build a robust regulatory regime for the safe and secure operation of nuclear power.

Our Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative is seeking to facilitate the effective deployment of SMRs and advanced reactors, by bringing together policy makers, regulators, designers, vendors and operators to develop common regulatory and industrial approaches. I am pleased to report that, since we started work a year ago, progress has been made on the two tracks of this key initiative, including the recent publishing of a working paper outlining why serially manufactured industrial products are crucial for the reliable deployment of SMRs.

The Agency is also carefully studying the impacts climate change on our energy systems. We know this can be a threat, but we also know that through careful measures, the resilience and robustness of nuclear power plants can withstand these impacts.

Timely deployment of nuclear power and all low carbon energy sources requires sustained engagement with all relevant stakeholders. This event will also look at the NIMBY phenomenon that often plagues low carbon energy projects to explore new ways to turn these cases into YIMBY, or Yes In My Backyard, in an event that will also include experiences from the renewables sectors. “Yes, in my back yard,” is what we hear from Onkalo to Ontario and in many other communities around the world which have experience hosting nuclear facilities.

On my recent visit to Sweden I saw clearly how transparent stakeholder engagement can shift opposition, not to neutrality, but for active embracing of nuclear, where communities vie for the opportunity to host nuclear facilities, including waste facilities. The GHG mitigation benefits and the energy security benefits of nuclear are clear, and so are the investment benefits for the communities involved, including those communities transitioning from the coal industry.

In closing let me come back to where I started. We have come a long way in four years. Four years ago, we held the first IAEA Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power. Four years ago, I was a new Director General of the IAEA. Now I stand before you at the start of my second term.

Today, nuclear has a place at the table. But our task is not finished. Too often nuclear power is not credited with the enormous role it already plays in mitigating emissions and fully appreciated for the crucial part it must play in creating the low-carbon economy that will allow us a sustainable future on this planet. In financing, too often nuclear energy’s benefits to grid stability and the scale and longevity of its low-carbon energy production are not fully factored into the calculations. Too often, instead of talking about nuclear as a friend and enabler of wind and solar, people talk a zero-sum competition.

To be pro-nuclear is to be pro-environment. To be pro-nuclear is to be in favour of wise investments. To be pro-nuclear is to take our long-term responsibility to this planet and its future generations seriously.  

We are on the same team. All low-carbon energy sources need to come together and join forces if we are to achieve a sustainable transition to net zero that meets the ever- tightening timeline we know we face. This is the reality. There is no time to waste and no time for zero-sum thinking. There is no credible obstacle keeping this from happening. It’s time to sit down together and forge a sustainable path.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

(As prepared for delivery)

Let me begin by welcoming The Gambia and Cabo Verde as new Member States of the IAEA since our last General Conference. This brings our membership to 177 States.

Madame President, ministers, distinguished delegates,

Having just taken my oath of office for a second term, I wanted to start by telling you that the trust you have placed in me to continue to serve you is both moving and inspiring. I am even more motivated, dedicated and enthusiastic than I was on 2 December 2019, when you swore me in as the sixth Director General of this remarkable institution.

At that time I don’t think any of us imagined that just a few months down the line we would be dealing with a pandemic the global magnitude of which the world had not experienced for a century. And as if that were not enough, we are now faced with a war in Europe in which, for the first time, the safety and security of a major nuclear power programme are under serious threat.

These two events are tragic in and of themselves, but they also make it more difficult – and urgent – to tackle the ever-more-present calamity of climate change and the very serious challenges of poverty, disease, hunger and food, water and energy insecurity.

I feel humbled and privileged to lead an institution with a unique mandate that allows us – everyone in this building today – to play a role in tackling these challenges.  

It is in our collaboration and our partnerships that we have achieved, and still can achieve, so much.

Seventy years after US President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his famous speech to the United Nations General Assembly, his Atoms for Peace vision has become an important, active part of our contribution towards international peace and security and furthering sustainable development. The IAEA is the operational instrument of this noble cause.

When I started as Director General, I was convinced of the formidable potential of this institution as an instrument for peace, stability and progress and the delivery of our programme since then is the most obvious illustration of the approach I have taken.

Let me begin with our work assisting Member States in tackling a growing crisis that has gone under the radar for far too long: the global cancer crisis. 

In my first year as DG, 10 million people died of cancer and there were 19 million new cases. By 2040, the number of new cases will jump to 30 million. If business as usual continues, far too many people will die of cancer in the coming decades because the burden of this crisis is falling disproportionately on those who have less: low and-middle income countries.

Over 70 per cent of Africans do not have access to radiotherapy. More than 20 countries on that continent don’t have a single life-saving radiotherapy machine.

Each individual death is a tragedy. That cancers routinely diagnosed and successfully treated in high income countries are killing increasing numbers of people in developing countries is an injustice. That we have the knowledge, the means, and the nuclear medicine to counter this cancer crisis, but are not scaling them to the degree necessary, is unacceptable. We can do something about it.

That is why we launched Rays of Hope, cancer care for all, at last year’s African Union summit, with the support of African heads of state and the World Health Organization. The initiative brings together all stakeholders, including Member States, development banks, and the private sector, to assist States seeking the tools and knowledge to address this crisis, to strengthen their health systems and to support their communities. So far 67 Member States have requested to join the initiative to strengthen their capacities in the fight against cancer.

So far, the IAEA has assessed the critical cancer care needs of seven African countries, and we are making real progress in providing them tangible support. We are delivering equipment and providing training for Benin, Chad, Kenya, Malawi, and Niger to increase access to radiotherapy, including cyclotrons and imaging equipment.

This July Botswana inaugurated its first public radiotherapy center, a crucial milestone that was supported by Rays of Hope via the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme.

In the coming months, Rays of Hope will begin to apply funds for activities in Latin American States. Since Rays of Hope was launched, donor countries have responded generously, committing more than €42 million.

But we need to scale up that support so that we can do more towards closing the growing gap between the challenges our Member States face and the tools they have to overcome them. In Rays of Hope, as with our other initiatives, I am fulfilling the promise I made at the start of my tenure to leverage partnerships outside our traditional donor base, including with international financial institutions and corporations.

I thank the donors for their generosity. Unfortunately, the need is still  greater than what we have achieved so far. I am confident that with your support we will meet the challenge of providing the required assistance.

Madame President,

COVID-19 taught us that the global defence against communicable diseases is only as strong as its weakest link. It reminded us that preparation is key when it comes to the threat of zoonotic outbreaks. The Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action, or ZODIAC, project is strengthening Member States’ preparedness and ability to quickly respond to zoonotic diseases. 

Coordinated research and development is an integral part of ZODIAC, which today has 150 national coordinators, and 127 national laboratories.  

ZODIAC works in partnership with the WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). 

Since its launch in June 2020, we have conducted training activities in all regions to ensure that all participating labs have the capabilities to effectively detect emerging zoonotic diseases.

Participants from more than 95 Member States have been trained and laboratories in 41 countries have been provided with equipment for serology and molecular diagnostic or genetic sequencing. 

Data and science underpin good decisions. The new ZODIAC Respiratory Disease Phenotype Repository will digitally analyse large data sets from research conducted all over the world to help identify emerging diseases. The Coordinated Research Project to enhance laboratory preparedness for detection and control of relevant priority diseases has started, beginning with a project in Korea for the Asia-Pacific region.

I thank those of you who are supporting ZODIAC and urge Member States in a position to do so, to consider making a financial contribution.

Another major cross-border challenge is plastic pollution, especially in the ocean.

NUTEC Plastics increases Member States’ capacity to use nuclear isotopic techniques to study microplastics in the ocean.

At our Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco, scientists are honing powerful and accurate nuclear scientific tools to better understand the impact of such nanomaterials along the marine food chain all the way to our dinner plates.

The Agency’s Global Marine Monitoring Network established under the NUTEC Plastics Initiative continues to grow, with two high-level scientific workshops having been held in Egypt and Mexico.

To reduce plastic waste before it has a chance to blight our land or ocean, NUTEC Plastics currently is assisting seven countries in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region to use radiation recycling technology to convert plastic waste into high-quality products.

In Africa, sixteen countries are participating in a regional project that aims to accelerate the transition to a circular plastic economy by applying nuclear science and technology solutions.

At the 2023 UN Water Conference, the IAEA launched the Global Water Analysis Laboratory Network, GloWAL. GloWAL assists Member States in addressing water scarcity, quality, and hydrological extremes, challenges being accelerated by climate change.

The IAEA and FAO’s special relationship is key to so much of our work in food security and other areas. Last year, FAO and the IAEA agreed to intensify their collaboration to leverage innovative research and development.

Just as we have started bold new initiatives to protect us from zoonotic diseases and cancer, access to nutritious food and food security must be addressed effectively, efficiently and holistically. Very soon I will be making an announcement on this matter.

So many of our projects are sustained by our unique laboratories in Seibersdorf, where experts engage in applied research and we welcome scientists from all over the world for training and exchanges of knowledge. I am happy to announce that the full-scale modernization of these, now state-of-the-art, laboratories is in its final phase. I would like to thank Member States who have supported their renewal.

Madame President,

In 2022, the IAEA assisted 149 countries and territories through our technical cooperation programme, 35 of which were least developed countries. The main areas of work were Food and Agriculture, Health and Nutrition, and Safety. The programme achieved an implementation rate of 84.4%. We supported almost 1500 fellowships and scientific visits, and delivered more than 2,000 expert and lecturer assignments, as well as enabling more than 3,000 people to take part in training courses.

Thanks to the contributions of Member States, the TC Fund Rate of Attainment reached 97.5%. Human capacity building is at the core of sustainable socioeconomic development, and I thank our Member States for their consistent support to the TC programme. I take the opportunity to remind Member States of the importance of making their TCF and NPC payments on time and in full.

As requested by the General Conference last year, I plan to organize the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme, from 12 to 14 November 2024, to be co-chaired by Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ghana, and Mr Kai Mykkanen, Minister for Climate and the Environment of Finland. This will be important to unlocking the full potential of nuclear science and technology across the world for the benefit of all, and I encourage Member States’ high-level participation.

Our work in widening the access to life-affirming nuclear science and technology is happening against a background of seismic shifts in our climate. The horrifying consequences of global warming are becoming ever more apparent, from wildfires in North America, to heat domes, droughts and floods across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa. Our climate emergency is undeniable, but so is our ability to do something about it.

Four years ago, nuclear power was struggling to gain a place at the table in major global conversations and events on energy and climate change. Today, nuclear power not only has a place at the table but is increasingly recognized as part of the solution.

One of my first decisions after assuming office in December 2019 was to attend the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change because I felt nuclear needed to be represented at the important annual global climate change event. The IAEA and nuclear was again present at COP26 in Glasgow and at Egypt’s COP27 where the IAEA and its partners set up a pavilion, establishing a strong foothold for nuclear energy at the world’s most important global annual climate change event. It was at Sharm El Sheik that we launched Atoms4NetZero to help states map out the role of nuclear energy in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions. Building on its momentum, we expect nuclear energy producing countries and the IAEA, at the upcoming COP28 meeting in the United Arab Emirates, to deliver an important, unified message about nuclear energy’s role in mitigating climate change.

This week, the topic of nuclear energy and innovation will take centre stage here at our annual Scientific Forum, entitled Nuclear Innovations for Net Zero.

It is clear that each country or community must decide for themselves whether nuclear power is right for them. But it is also increasingly clear that more and more countries are expressing interest in nuclear energy, and that they are acting on this interest. This was evident last year in Washington at our International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century. Newcomer countries announced plans for introducing nuclear power, while established nuclear nations revealed ambitions to deploy a new generation of advanced reactors to address major challenges. And new efforts by the Agency were also showcased to help the world reimagine nuclear energy as a clean, reliable and sustainable source of energy for the 21st century.

Until the past few years, we had not been vocal enough about the benefits of nuclear power. But that page has been turned.

Even as public opinion polls around the world show the tide turning in favour of nuclear energy, countries still need to engage stakeholders openly and proactively in their nuclear power programmes. Concerted effort and action are warranted at an international scale and therefore this spring there will be a summit on nuclear energy. Bold decisions are required to get us on track towards an affordable, just and sustainable energy future that taps all viable low-carbon technology options, including nuclear energy.

Today the 410 nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries provide approximately 369 gigawatts of installed capacity, supplying some 10% of the world’s electricity and around a quarter of all low-carbon electricity. There are 58 reactors under construction in 31 countries; these are expected to provide about 60 gigawatts of additional capacity.

Nuclear power capacity will need to grow significantly if the world is to meet its climate goals. Part of that growth could come from Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The IAEA Platform on SMRs and their Applications provides Member States with enhanced Agency support on this important emerging technology whose modular design allows for a more gradual scaling up of power capacity making SMRs especially relevant for developing countries. To further support the global deployment of safe and secure advanced reactors such as SMRs, I launched the Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI). It works towards enhancing the harmonization of regulatory approaches and also the wider standardization of industrial approaches. I am pleased to report that, since we started work a year ago, progress has been made on the two tracks of this key initiative, including the recent publishing of a white paper outlining why serially manufactured industrial products are crucial for the reliable deployment of SMRs.

Further down the line, nuclear fusion promises the possibility of abundant energy. Four years ago, IAEA activities on fusion were exclusively focused on science. Today, we have expanded our efforts, aiming also to accelerate development and deployment of fusion energy systems. We have come a long way, and I invite you to take stock of this progress next month in London at our biannual Fusion Energy Conference, where we will be launching a new publication, the IAEA World Fusion Outlook. It will provide a forum for discussing key physics and technology issues as well as innovative concepts of direct relevance to the use of nuclear fusion as an abundant source of low-carbon energy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Climate change requires us to take long-term responsibility for the wellbeing of our planet and its people. The nuclear field, with the IAEA at its centre, takes its long-term responsibility very seriously, whether in finding solutions to safely storing waste; by designing decommissioning into new nuclear power plants that will serve us for the good part of a century; or by having an ever-learning mindset when it comes to building a culture of nuclear safety and security that spans the globe.

Nuclear energy is safer than it has ever been, and it is safer than almost any other source of energy. That is in large part because of the field’s commitment and the role of the IAEA. This year is the 65th anniversary of the IAEA safety standards. Today, the IAEA is using those standards, its statutory mandate, its scientific knowledge and its global reach actively to help protect the environment from the consequences of a nuclear accident. Just a month ago, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) of Japan began to discharge into the sea the ALPS-treated water stored at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima.

The IAEA is providing live data from Japan on the release of treated water, as we receive it from TEPCO.

We have set up an IAEA office at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. It will continue independently to collect, assess, and report data from the release to ensure consistency and transparency. These independent sampling and impartial analysis and corroboration activities will continue during the entirety of the discharge, which is expected to take decades. As I have said before, the IAEA was there before, is there during and will be there after the completion of these activities, until the last drop.

I cannot think of many other cases where an international organisation is actively protecting our ecosystem by assessing, over decades, an industrial action to ensure it does no harm to the environment, sea, fish, and sediment. Our work in Fukushima is a testament to the unique mandate and expertise of the IAEA and the commitment of the nuclear community to do no harm. Through the IAEA’s ongoing work in Fukushima, the world is able to examine that an industrial activity of significant magnitude that poses legitimate environmental questions, is being addressed correctly.  

Ladies and gentlemen,

I alluded to the war in Ukraine at the very start of my remarks. When we met a year ago, I reported to you that the IAEA had established an ongoing presence at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. In addition, we have also deployed teams and established an ongoing presence at Ukraine’s other four nuclear power plants.

As of 31 August, 53 missions comprising a total of 116 Agency staff members have been deployed as part of the continued presence at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine.

In the past year, 10 rotations of IAEA safety experts have crossed the front lines of war to Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

In the past months, the IAEA has increased its presence at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in order to monitor compliance with the five principles for protecting the Plant from a serious accident. These principles have the support of the United Nations Security Council, which I briefed earlier in the year.

As I have reported in my regular updates military activities are evident in the vicinity of the plant, causing concern about nuclear safety at the plant.  

In June, I led a team to assess how the damage of the Kakhovka dam impacts Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant’s safety. We continue to monitor the significant efforts being made to ensure enough cooling water for the six units.  

Actions have been taken to stabilise the site’s water resources. These are currently sufficient for several months of its cooling requirements in the current conditions. However, the challenges the site has been facing in this regard are further adding to the generally precarious nuclear safety and security situation there.

A new programme of assistance for the Kherson Oblast (ISAMKO) was announced in June. It aims to address the adverse medium- and long-term environmental, social and economic impacts of the flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

Overall, more than 20 deliveries of nuclear safety- and security-related equipment have been made to different organizations in Ukraine since the start of the war.

Nuclear security is an important domain where the IAEA has responded to Member States’ wishes for more support and increasingly sophisticated training.  I am delighted to announce that the construction of the IAEA Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre at the Laboratories in Seibersdorf is complete. This first international centre of excellence on nuclear security will allow Member States to benefit from training, capacity building and collaboration like never before.

Madame President,

Since I assumed this office in 2019, I have been committed to strengthening the legal framework on which the continued verification of the peaceful use of nuclear material relies. I am pleased, therefore, to report that over the course of my first term as Director General of the IAEA, the number of States with safeguards agreements in force increased from 184 States to 190 States today; and those with Additional Protocols increased from 136 to 141.

There are now only four States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty without comprehensive safeguards agreements in force. I call upon them to bring such agreements into force without delay. I also encourage States that have not yet concluded additional protocols to do so as soon as possible. And I reiterate my call for States with small quantities protocols based on the old standard text to amend or rescind them. The old standard SQP is simply not adequate for our current safeguards system. At present 78 States have an operative SQP based on the revised standard text.

Over the past four years, the amount of nuclear material under IAEA safeguards has seen an increase of seven per cent. This trend will continue into the future. As such, we must continue to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of Agency safeguards.

Since September 2021, the issue of naval nuclear propulsion has been of considerable interest, and, for some, of concern. As I stated on numerous occasions, the Agency will continue working with the relevant States on this complex technical matter and will be guided by the Agency’s sole beacon: our safeguards and non-proliferation mission. That mission will be carried out in accordance with both the Agency’s statutory mandate and the relevant safeguards agreements, which should always be respected.

Madame President,

In relation to IAEA verification activities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, during my tenure I have continued to report to the IAEA Board of Governors on both Iran’s NPT Safeguards Agreement and verification and monitoring undertaken in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231.

With regard to the NPT Safeguards Agreement, I must reiterate that significant safeguards issues remain outstanding after a number of years. I also cannot but recognise that implementing the activities set out in the most recent Joint Statement between myself and Iran – in March this year – has not made the progress I was hoping for.

On this, and on matters related to the de-facto suspended implementation by Iran of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the IAEA, and I personally remain actively engaged and ready to work with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Only full cooperation by Iran and tangible results will take us to credible assurances that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

The IAEA continues to monitor the DPRK nuclear programme. We have observed activities at several sites consistent with the DPRK’s continuation of its illegal nuclear programme, a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions that is deeply regrettable. I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to cooperate promptly with the Agency in the full and effective implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country. The Agency continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme.

Madame President,

The nuclear field can only be as good as the people within it. The invisible barriers to women’s participation are real, and they are hurting us all, especially at a time when the sector faces shortages of skilled professionals, from welders to scientists.

Our Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme continues to grow. Applications for the next cycle of the programme are accepted until the end of this month. This year we are looking to award 200 fellowships, double our first round.

Since the launch of the MSCFP in 2020, scholarships have been awarded to 360 women from 110 Member States studying in 65 countries.

Many of our fellows have gone on to accept IAEA-facilitated internships at IAEA headquarters, our laboratories, Collaborating Centers, private sector companies or other partner organizations.

As a natural follow-on to the MSCFP, I launched the Lise Meitner initiative earlier this year. This new endeavor, named after the important Austrian-Swedish physicist who discovered fission and whose name now also proudly designates our library, aims to level the playing field by giving women in the nuclear field opportunities that will support their advancement. The visiting professionals programme for the first LMP cohort took place in the US in June and a second is planned for next month. I encourage Member States to support both these programmes, including by hosting professional visits.

Maximizing the IAEA talent pool and creating the conditions for gender equality and wide geographic representation are important priorities. At the start of my tenure as DG, I set a goal for gender parity by 2025 and put in place the policies that would get us there. At that point less than 30% of the Secretariat’s staff serving in the professional or higher category were women. Today that share has climbed to 43% and counting.

I am determined to meet our goal of gender parity across all levels of the Professional and higher categories of staff by 2025 and committed to the IAEA’s Secretariat being a place where everyone is able to do their best work. To do so, we will continue to work to attract, recruit and retain women from across all professional fields, and with as wide a geographical representation as possible. 

The 2024-2025 Agency’s programme and budget, recommended for your approval, strikes a balance that considers the financial constraints faced by Member States and the demand on the Agency’s services. You have my assurance that the resources you entrust to us will continue to be managed wisely and productively.

But I would be remiss not to tell you that the Agency is facing a serious liquidity challenge due to a delay in receipt of Regular Budget assessed contributions from Member States.

The Agency needs a stable and predictable financial foundation to meet its statutory and legal obligations. The delayed payment of contributions jeopardizes the timely implementation of the Agency’s programmatic activities and could eventually lead to their suspension. I appeal to those Member States with outstanding contributions to settle their overdue payments and I call on all Member States to honour their obligation to pay their assessed contributions in a timely manner.

Madame President,

Each year this gathering gives me a chance to meet with you, to listen to you and to offer you ways to support our mandate and the mission of Atoms for Peace and Development.  

I would like to thank you for your collaboration and express my gratitude to our host country, the Republic of Austria, for doing everything possible to enable our work. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Principality of Monaco for its steadfast support of the Agency and our unique Marine Environment Laboratories, which celebrate the 25th anniversary of their current premises this year. Finally, I would like to commend the Agency’s staff for their unwavering commitment to supporting our Member States and fulfilling the IAEA’s important mandate at a time when it matters more than ever.

Seventy years after the famous speech that helped found the IAEA, the dream of “Atoms for Peace”, now Atoms for Peace and Development, lives on. Making it a reality is up to all of us. Thank you.