For the past decade, the Department of Technical Cooperation has offered new staff and delegates of Vienna-based Permanent Missions the opportunity to attend a day-long seminar which presents the broad range of work conducted through the IAEA’s technical cooperation (TC) programme. On 14 October, nearly 40 diplomats from 36 countries attended the 10th edition of the Seminar on Technical Cooperation to learn more about the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, from the policy documents which establish its mandate to the scientific expertise research which underpins its implementation and achievements.
“This Seminar for Diplomats has allowed us to provide a good foundational briefing on the technical cooperation programme for several cycles of diplomatic staff, and it gives us all space to talk to each other and to learn,” said Deputy Director General Dazhu Yang.
Designed to acquaint attendees with the fundamental policies, procedures and points-of-contact of the TC Department, the annual Seminar for Diplomats ensures that all participating delegates are well-informed about the programme and its contribution to their countries’ development priorities. Through nine sessions, the focus of the Seminar becomes increasingly specific, beginning with the broad institutional history and composition of the TC Department, and subsequently narrowing its focus to include matters related to financing, evaluating and assuring the quality of the programme’s suite of nearly 850 projects.
