The first meeting between the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), a regional inter-governmental agency, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is taking place from 19-21 April 2017 in Vienna, Austria. CDEMA comprises eighteen participating states from the Caribbean and provides the primary coordination of emergency response and relief efforts in the region.

The meeting brings together high level CDEMA representatives, including the Executive Director of CDEMA, Mr Ronald Jackson, and IAEA staff members from the Technical Cooperation Division for Latin America and the Caribbean (TCLAC), the IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre and the Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety.

At the opening, Mr. Luis Longoria, Director, TCLAC, highlighted the importance of this meeting. “It is a great opportunity to identify areas for cooperation between our agencies in the future, to support countries in the Caribbean in their efforts in emergency preparedness and response,” he said.

Over the past couple of years, the IAEA has worked very closely with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which CDEMA is part, through the IAEA technical cooperation programme.

Following the meeting, an Action Plan will be developed between CDEMA and the IAEA, outlining concrete actions to be taken by both agencies in the area of emergency preparedness and response in the near future.