On the occasion of the IAEA’s 64th annual General Conference, country representatives and delegates to the Cooperative Agreement for Arab States in Asia for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology’s (ARASIA) convened their annual meeting of Board of Representatives, held virtually on 22 September, to review the implementation of the technical cooperation (TC) projects and to finalize arrangements for the forthcoming 2022-2023 TC cycle.
“The annual meeting with the ARASIA Board of Representatives has always been a platform to discuss actions and make decisions that support the sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness of the ARASIA programme,” explained Dazhu Yang, Deputy Director General of the Department of Technical Cooperation, who drew attention to the successful virtualization of many activities, from coordination meetings to training courses. “In this regard, let me congratulate ARASIA National Representatives on reaching a high level of implementation.”
In her remarks to the participants, Deputy Director General of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications Najat Mokhtar drew attention to increasing contribution of IAEA Collaborating Centres in the region, "I am happy to note that there are now three IAEA Collaborating Centres in the region—and this ongoing cooperation is also making a significant contribution to development in several key areas," said Mokhtar. "In agriculture, for example, sixty scientists have been trained in nuclear and isotopic techniques that assist farmers in ten ARASIA countries grow crops under challenging saline conditions."
