The United Arab Emirates is participating at the 64th Annual General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The event kicked off on Monday and will run until the 25th September
The UAE delegation – which is participating remotely – is being led by Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; and Hamad Alkaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to IAEA, as well as various representatives from the national stakeholders in the nuclear sector; the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, FANR, and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, ENEC.
The UAE’s participation at the IAEA General Conference this year is marked by the country’s major milestone witnessing the start-up of the first unit of Barakah Nuclear Power plant back in August 2020, making the UAE the first Arab country to develop and operate a nuclear power plant.
Minister Al Mazrouei delivered the UAE national statement via a video message at the plenary session of the General Conference on Monday. He highlighted the strong relationship that binds the IAEA and the UAE and how it supported the development of the UAE nuclear programme throughout the years. He also updated the member states on the progress of the UAE Nuclear Energy Programme, sharing the UAE’s success for starting-up the first unit of the nuclear power plant.
The UAE delegation has planned numerous meetings during the week-long conference including a bilateral meeting with Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director-General of the IAEA, to discuss the UAE-IAEA relations and their future cooperation.
Since joining the IAEA in 1976, the UAE has been cooperating with the IAEA based on its national developmental priorities. The cooperation spans across different sectors such as training and capacity building, nuclear energy infrastructure development as well as the use of nuclear applications in healthcare, agriculture, environmental monitoring and others.
The General Conference is the highest policy-making body of the IAEA. It is composed of representatives of all Member States of the agency. The General Conference meets to consider and approve the agency’s programme and budget and to decide on other matters brought before it by the Board of Governors, the Director-General and the Member States.
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