The Convention which you have adopted and the Final Act are the result of much work in Governments, in their nuclear safety authorities - as well as in the Secretariat of the IAEA. Fortunately the political will to achieve a convention has been coupled with a readiness to make constructive compromises - both in the Expert Group that prepared the draft Convention and in this Conference itself.

The four days which this Diplomatic Conference has lasted have certainly been long and full. I think you have reason to be proud to have been able to finalize the Convention in such a short time. In terms of effective treaty-making this Convention, and the work that led to it, is an excellent example and adds to the superb record set by the IAEA in 1986 in the adoption of the Conventions on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and on Emergency Assistance.

In the present Convention, as in the case of the two Conventions I just mentioned, the expeditious and effective work has, of course, been much facilitated by the existence of prior internationally agreed fundamental principles. The organic growth of norms into law is less problematic than the creation of instant law.

The success of this Conference, we know very well, is also due to the able and dynamic guidance of its President, Dr. Walter Hohlefelder, to the hard and patient work of the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Mr. Lars H?gberg, and of its Vice-Chairman, Ambassador Theresa Quintella, the work of the Drafting Committee and its Chairman, Mr. Gopalakrishnan, and to the teamwork of the Bureau. I think you will not mind if I also mention hard-working staff members of the IAEA, in particular the Director of the Legal Division, Mr. Sturms.

We now look forward to the Convention coming into force and operation. May I express the hope that the representatives and experts who have been so dynamic in working out the Convention now turn their energies to bring their own governments to speedily sign and ratify the Convention. After all, by the consensus expressed here, we know that the governments support the text. Let us try to bring the Convention into force in record time!

The promotion of safety in nuclear installations is an important national and international objective. This Convention will give many well-known principles the force of law. It will also establish innovative mechanisms to help us ensure that the letters of this law translate into safe nuclear reality.