Highlights from the 68th IAEA General Conference: The Department of Technical Cooperation
This year, on the occasion of the 68th IAEA General Conference (GC68), more than 3000 national representatives from 150 countries met at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, joined by close to 300 delegates from across the United Nations system, as well as the private sector and civil society. Side events organized by the Department of Technical Cooperation focused on recent achievements of the IAEA technical cooperation (TC) programme, and meetings held on the margins of the Conference facilitated countries’ efforts to propose, plan and prepare for new activities.
Each year, the Department of Technical Cooperation organizes an exhibition to inform national representatives and conferencegoers of the latest developments related to the TC programme. This year, visitors could pick up a number of new publications, including a data card providing a user-friendly overview of the programme, a brochure on the IAEA Rays of Hope initiative, a selection of highlighted TC stories, and more.
The management of legacy radioactive waste—which includes waste produced by past practices which lack clear routes for safe disposal—can pose challenges even to experienced safety experts due to its undetermined condition and unknown provenance. At a side event on 18 September, panellists from Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine described the strategies which guided their management of legacy waste inventories, based on their experience implementing technical cooperation projects. In the presence of waste experts from across Europe, Central Asia and beyond, the speakers highlighted the results of three successful national projects designed to analyse, transfer and store legacy radioactive waste.
From safer food and improved healthcare to a more competitive industrial sector, nuclear science has the potential to transform living conditions in Africa. To fully leverage the opportunities presented by nuclear technology, however, a robust postsecondary education system is needed. At a GC68 side event, academic leaders, country representatives and conference attendees observed a panel discussion to explore the best available strategies to enhance opportunities for tertiary education throughout Africa, while empowering young scientists. The speakers at the event held on 18 September emphasized the need for South-South cooperation in capacity building and knowledge exchange.
The IAEA supports several regional cooperative agreements to enhance and expand the contribution of nuclear technology to sustainable development. Regional agreements have been established to support technical cooperation activities in Africa (AFRA), among Arab states in Asia (ARASIA), Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL), and in Asia and the Pacific (RCA). Each year, the States Parties to these agreements organize annual meetings to coincide with the IAEA’s General Conference.
The 35th meeting of representatives to the African Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (AFRA) was held on 19 September. The meeting’s 70 participants reviewed the ongoing implementation of the African regional TC programme and considered the outcomes produced by its projects in the last year. Organized the day after the GC68 side event on postgraduate education, the annual meeting provided an opportunity to extend conversations about training opportunities and to propose new actions to expand access to advanced nuclear science educational programmes in Africa.
Delegates to the Cooperative Agreement for Arab States in Asia for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology (ARASIA) convened their annual meeting on 17 September. The agenda prioritized an assessment of the nuclear medicine capacities in the agreement’s ten Member StatesIn addition to updates provided by counterparts from ARASIA’s Regional Resource Centres for nuclear medicine, a new nuclear medicine reference document was launched at the meeting.
The 26th annual meeting of the Regional Cooperation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL) was held on 17 September and afforded the 70 attending national representatives an opportunity to evaluate the activities implemented under the IAEA’s special initiatives: Atoms4Food, NUTEC Plastics, Rays of Hope and ZODIAC.
44 delegates from 21 counties convoked the 53rd annual meeting of Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA) to share recent success stories from the region, to assess the implementation of technical cooperation activities in the last year, and to measure them against the performance indicators established by the 2024-2029 RCA Programme Framework.
Country Programme Frameworks (CPFs) form an important cornerstone of national TC programmes. Developed by stakeholders from the country, with input from the IAEA, CPFs provide the frame of reference for medium-term planning of technical cooperation between a Member State and the IAEA and identify the priority areas where nuclear technology can be used to address national development goals. This year, six Country Programme Frameworks were signed on the margins of the General Conference, for Armenia, the Republic of Bulgaria, Cuba, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman.
