Events

MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) – Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Belarus’ representative in the IAEA Board of Governors Valentin Rybakov presented the view of Belarus and Russia on bolstering the IAEA’s role in nuclear science in the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria on 9 March, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.

A regular session of the IAEA Board of Governors ended in Vienna the day before. On behalf of the member states of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Valentin Rybakov made a speech to address the agenda’s item “Bolstering the agency’s performance in the area of nuclear science, technologies, and applications”.

Valentin Rybakov noted that efforts to broadly advance nuclear and radiation technologies will help considerably improve the level of energy security in the foreseeable future. The efforts will also help find systemic solutions to overcome the shortage of fresh water, save and restore the environment. Apart from that, such efforts will be able to put a stop to the spread of dangerous viral and oncological diseases. In the grand scheme of things such efforts will bring peace and stability to many parts of the planet, raising living standards for millions of people by enabling unhindered access towards benefits of peaceful nuclear technologies.

The Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs underlined that the international community expects that as a respected and most technically competent organization the IAEA will come up with concrete answers and will provide assistance with the development of effective and stable nuclear energy programs that can give an impulse to the industrial, social, and economic growth in many countries where no wise alternatives to nuclear energy are available. The growing demand for the IAEA’s services in energy planning and forming a reliable nuclear infrastructure testifies to that.

Belarus’ representative drew attention to the fact that nuclear energy industry with its undoubtable advantages is widely represented and rapidly develops in the modern world. Nations are interested in making such nuclear energy industries live up to the highest internationally recognized standards of effectiveness, safety, and non-proliferation. Nuclear energy should not be set against other innovative kinds of power generation. Instead all the available sources of energy should mutually complement each other, with due attention paid to environmental considerations.

The IAEA Board of Governors also paid attention to the appointment of the IAEA director general. Yukiya Amano was reappointed IAEA Director General by acclamation. The appointment decision will come into force once it is approved by the IAEA General Conference that will take place in Vienna in September 2017.

During the session the Belarusian delegation led by Valentin Rybakov took an active part in discussions about the items on the session’s agenda, including nuclear safety and security, the handling of decommissioned radioactive sources, the development of nuclear technologies, and the implementation of IAEA guarantees in Iran and Syria.