The Standing Advisory Group on Technical Assistance and Cooperation (SAGTAC) was established in 1996 to advise the Director General on the Agency's technical cooperation (TC) strategy and policies.

Groups such as SAGTAC provide advice for enhancing scientific, technological and security benefits for Member States.

The IAEA has four of these advisory groups; the others are the Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Energy (SAGNE), the Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Applications (SAGNA), and the Standing Advisory Group on Safeguards Implementation (SAGSI). Members of these groups come from various backgrounds and are appointed by the Director General. They are drawn from national authorities, nuclear research and technological centres, academic institutions, international organizations and multilateral agencies. The members serve on the group in a personal capacity and not as representatives of a government or organization.

SAGTAC's advice and recommendations over the years has been instrumental in the development of the IAEA's technical cooperation policy and direction. From these advisory group meetings comes guidance on how to learn from other organizations' successes, prepare to meet upcoming challenges and monitor and evaluate the results of TC activities.

Of particular interest during this year's meeting were SAGTAC recommendations on the need to increase the impact of the TC programme in light of current global challenges. The week-long meeting concluded with a presentation of findings, which will be brought to the DG office and senior management of the Agency and the Department. An update on this year's SAGTAC meeting report will be provided here on the TC website when the report is issued.