Today, the proposal of Atoms for Peace is more relevant than ever and the IAEA is the vehicle by which we are making it a reality. Every day on every continent, the IAEA supports nations in overcoming challenges like disease, poverty, hunger, pollution and climate change by seizing opportunities to improve healthcare, agriculture, and energy systems through the power of nuclear science and technology.

As successful as the global non-proliferation regime has been, it has not, however, snuffed out the spectre of nuclear proliferation. History has taught us valuable lessons and the current geostrategic consideration of nations show clearly that proliferation tendencies continue to pose a serious challenge.

Keeping nuclear from doing us harm is a noble cause in itself. But is it also a means to a very important end. It allows the world to harness nuclear science and technology to answer some of the most urgent challenges we face: climate change, plastic pollution, zoonotic diseases, cancer and the scarcity of water and food.

Nuclear newbuilds are critical infrastructure projects, just like the bridges and railways without which society cannot function, let alone thrive. We invest in these projects because they provide the foundation on which our modern world turns. Once up and running, nuclear power plants produce abundant clean heat and electricity over the good part of a century, paying dividends in cash and in economic and societal benefits, such as jobs and clean air.

We now have a global consensus, expressed at COP28, to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy to address climate change. Countries and industries on all corners of the planet are crying out for timely, affordable and flexible nuclear energy solutions. For many countries and companies, Small Modular Reactors are the technology they want and need.

Radiation medicine has made extraordinary progress in our lifetime, saving millions of lives by turning cancers that were death sentences into curable diseases.  But these life-saving advances have passed half the world by.