Ms. Ana María Cetto, Deputy Director General of the IAEA and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, has met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Zinaida Greceanii, and members of the Government of Moldova to discuss future development plans in the country, and has participated in the inauguration of the first electron linear accelerator at Moldova's Institute of Oncology.
The installation of the medical linear accelerator comes about as the result of extensive collaborative efforts in technical cooperation between the Government of Moldova, the Moldovan Institute of Oncology and the IAEA over the past six years. At the official opening ceremony, the Prime Minister expressed the Government's satisfaction with the IAEA's technical cooperation programme. Ms. Greceanii underscored that the upgrade of radiotherapy and nuclear diagnostic services is still among the highest priorities for Moldova. Professor Viktor Cernat, Director of the Moldovan Oncology Institute, emphasized that the accelerator will play an important role in improving radiotherapy services for cancer prevention and treatment for the people of Moldova. The preceding radiotherapy units were not able to deliver the precision necessary to treat children or to treat deep localized tumours in the brain. The acquisition of this modern technology will not only expand the current radiotherapy services, but will allow the Institute to treat sensitive cancers in adults and children.
Ms. Cetto commended the Government for their continued commitment to improve radiotherapy services in Moldova. She noted the importance of the Moldovan Government's ongoing engagement in the Agency's technical cooperation activities and emphasized the collaborative efforts between the Agency and the Government, which ensured that staff received appropriate training to make the best use of the new state of the art equipment. Ms. Cetto thanked the Government of Moldova for facilitating workshops and training courses and confirmed the Secretariat's commitment to continue efforts to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the planning and implementation of the technical cooperation programme: a commitment that will benefit all Member States participating in the programme.