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IAEA Board of Governors Convenes

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IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano at the Board of Governors meeting, Vienna, Austria, 20 November 2014. (Photo: P. Pavlicek/IAEA)

On Thursday, 20 November 2014, the IAEA Board of Governors began a two-day meeting at the Agency's Headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

In his opening statement, Director General Yukiya Amano recalled his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York at which he had expressed his conviction that "nuclear science and technology have much to contribute to sustainable development in areas such as human health, agriculture and water management, as well as in energy." He had asked UN Member States to help ensure that the importance of science and technology is explicitly recognized as a central part of the post-2015 development agenda.

Noting that the  IAEA’s Technical Cooperation programme for 2015 was before the Board for approval, the Director said:  "Health and nutrition is the largest area of activity, followed by nuclear safety and security, and then by food and agriculture. Together, these activities make up 68% of the core TC programme for 2015."

The Director General updated the Board on the Agency’s work to provide rapid assistance to countries affected by Ebola Virus Disease. Specialised diagnostic equipment had been supplied to Sierra Leone last week and equipment had been ordered for Liberia. The Agency had also been approached for help by Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Nigeria.

"Early next year, we plan to launch a four-year regional project to help African countries build capacity for the fast and sensitive diagnosis of diseases which can be transmitted from animals to humans," Mr Amano said. "This will help countries to identify the transmission pathways of diseases such as Ebola."

The IAEA published its latest report on Climate Change and Nuclear Power on Thursday. "As the report shows, global energy demand is likely to grow dramatically in the coming decades," Director General Amano said. "At the same time, the world’s carbon footprint must be reduced. Along with hydropower and wind, nuclear energy has the lowest life-cycle CO2 emissions. I hope Member States will find the report useful as they prepare for next year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference.”

The full text of Director General Amano’s statement can be accessed here. Selected excerpts from the statement are available under Story Resouces.

During their deliberations, the 35-Member Board of Governors will also discuss safeguards implementation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran.

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Last update: 18 Apr 2018

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