[en] Although I currently serve as President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (by citizens’ mandate and for the second non-consecutive time), I am a medical oncologist and radiotherapist by vocation and profession. Then, you may imagine how much to be here with you today means to me. But besides this background, a country aware of the importance of the transfer of technologies carried out by this agency through its Technical Cooperation Program. A program from which Uruguay has benefited in areas such as regulation of activities relating to radiations through the creation of new requirements and guidelines based on IAEA guidelines. A program to which Uruguay has also contributed from numerous national and regional projects related to nuclear applications in different fields and instances of the development of the countries since that is, in essence, the fundamental purpose of the Program and the IAEA: to make energy and nuclear technology available for the progress and well-being of humanity.

[en] reactors, however, the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology has been applied in various fields, with particular emphasis on medical science. The IAEA TC contribution in the field of medicine has helped us to establish better radiotherapy and nuclear medicine facilities. Through the support from the TC, a medical radiation physics center in the Departments of Medical Physics at the Clinical Centre of the University of Sarajevo (KCUS) and the Clinical Centre Banja Luka were successfully established. Additionally, trained staff from these clinical centers were able to help establish medical radiation physics centers in three more hospitals in the country. A larger professional body of medical physicists has established the foundations for continuous education and clinical training in medical physics and radiation protection. Internationally accepted standards of staff and equipment are now available for training in all major areas of medical radiation physics: radiotherapy, diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine.

[en] TC Programme in Nuclear Energy Development: • China has reinforced the infrastructure development, human resources training, technical and research capability; • China has adopted almost all the safety standards of IAEA and improves its safety regulatory system; • China has established sustainable and comprehensive partnerships with IAEA and other countries; • China receives fellows, scientific visitors, trainers from other countries, provides expert services; • In 2011, China established the International Power Construction Training Center (TCTC) with the IAEA, and has trained over 200 people from over 38 countries.

[en] Being a member of the IAEA, Indonesia has benefited from the TC Programme in promoting the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity. Aside from enjoying cooperation with the Agency, beginning in 2012 Indonesia has provided voluntary contributions, including through the Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI). The aim is to assist other countries, especially developing and least developed countries, under the framework of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries and South-South Cooperation. At the same time, the contributions are used to support the advancement of nuclear sciences and applications through the modernization of the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf. In 2015, Indonesia also initiated the Regional Capacity Building Initiative (RCBI) to promote resource mobilization in Asia and the Pacific region, engaging Member States and potential donors. Indonesia believes in the importance of broadening stakeholders through partnerships with non-traditional donors in resource mobilization to seek additional funds, and encourages efforts by all Member States to find such partners within their own countries.

[en] Our country was one of the founding Member States of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but it was not until 1977 that our first national technical cooperation project was implemented. Since then, the programme of technical cooperation between Cuba and the IAEA has been an example of a successful partnership that has benefited our country’s priority sectors such as human health, agriculture, industry and the environment through national, regional and interregional projects. In the 40 years since 1977, Cuba has implemented 111 national projects and participated in 173 regional and 24 interregional projects, attaining an average annual implementation rate of over 90%. Thanks to this cooperation, Cuba has benefited from 740 fellowships, 390 scientific visits and the experience of more than 800 international experts. In return for the support it has received from the IAEA, our country has made its own contributions, mainly in education and training to support the development of human resources in other Member States. In these 40 years, Cuba has carried out more than 1000 expert missions, trained more than 200 fellows from every region at its facilities, hosted multiple events and been the site of training courses for more than 700 participants. Cuba actively participates in the Regional Co-operation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL) and is currently ARCAL’s focal point for human health in the region. This cooperation greatly benefits the training of human resources in such important areas as the treatment of patients suffering from cancer and other non-communicable diseases, which are the cause of the decline in various health indicators in the region, including life expectancy at birth, childhood malnutrition and cerebrovascular diseases.

[en] The IAEA’s support for projects in areas as diverse as health, food and agriculture, water and the environment, industrial applications and energy, have proven consistently that the peaceful, innovative and cross-border utilisation of nuclear technology has so much to contribute to sustainable development and to the creative realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. For our part, we in Jordan hope that we may all cooperate to help our citizens, young and old, to feel a borderless connection with the platforms, tools and infrastructure that enable scientific enquiry to engage and to flourish. In this regard, we were delighted to see the official opening of SESAME, the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, just two weeks ago. SESAME is a beacon of cooperative science in a region where political collaboration is so often absent or thwarted. But it also has the potential to help shine a light into all our communities, one that will illuminate the vast potential of creative innovation to solve problems, to make life better for all of us, and to teach us so much more about ourselves. But we must also note the place of science in our cultural identities and our tribal memories. For science must be seen as a shared resource, and a common gift, for all our human family. For all of us, our cultural heritage is a creation of the innovative spirits of many ancestors.

[en] I am aware of the very important work that is being carried out by the IAEA in making peaceful nuclear science and technology available to improve human wellbeing and prosperity. As a scientist, I feel deeply honoured to be part of this meeting today as it marks a very important milestone for the IAEA. We are collectively charting the way forward for mobilizing science, technology and innovation through the use of nuclear technology for sustainable development. The Republic of Mauritius has ratified several of IAEA conventions and our scientists and engineers have benefited directly, since 1974, from several technical programs in the fields of human health, agriculture, food security, energy, waste management and water resources. A total of over 500 Mauritian scientists and fellows have benefitted from capacity building with a peak in the field of food and agriculture. Among our other priorities are nuclear medicine services for cancer treatment, the monitoring of coal ash disposal and landfill solid waste disposal on ground water as well as air quality using nuclear techniques and nuclear related techniques. We have also sustained the suppression of the Dengue fever, Zika as well as Chikungunya vectors (Aedes albopictus) in many areas around the country and we are consolidating capacity building on the risk factors for non-communicable diseases using stable isotope techniques. STI including nuclear technologies are helping countries reduce poverty and hunger, improve energy supply, treat diseases and respond to climate change – and much more. The best-known peaceful application of nuclear technology remains nuclear power, which through strengthened safety, can be a valuable source of energy and help mitigate the impact of climate change. Unfortunately, many developing countries including those on the continent still lack the scientific capacity to enjoy the fruits that these technologies bring. Yet, to alleviate poverty and reduce income inequalities, Africa needs to move to high-productive sectors for industrial upgrading and technological innovation.

[en] Transferring nuclear technology to developing countries is core IAEA business and one of the most important areas of our work. The IAEA technical cooperation programme is central to delivery of our Atoms for Peace and Development mandate. It has improved the health and prosperity of millions of people. We have been working for decades to make nuclear technology available in areas where it has unique, or added, value. The TC programme now helps countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in energy, food and agriculture, industry and water management, as well as in health. I have seen for myself in visits to developing countries all over the world that TC projects deliver huge benefits to individuals, families and entire communities. The fact that we are constantly attracting new Member States indicates that the TC programme is effective in meeting development needs. Central to our approach is the belief that developing countries should determine their own priorities. They decide in what areas they wish to benefit from nuclear science and technology. We then do our best to provide the support they seek. That support is not primarily about handing over equipment. We focus on transferring knowledge and expertise. High quality technical training helps developing countries to build their own expertise so they can train future generations of nuclear specialists. Many developing countries have already acquired a high level of expertise in nuclear technology and there are many excellent examples of South–South cooperation. This makes a vital contribution to helping the Agency deliver its technical cooperation programme. The IAEA technical cooperation programme has made a valuable contribution to development in the last six decades. In some areas, such as nuclear energy, safety and security, we are the leading international organization. In others, such as human health and food and agriculture, we play a supporting role – but a very effective one. In all areas of our work, our goal is to achieve concrete results that make a clear difference to the lives of the people we serve.

[en] For the past six decades, the Technical Cooperation Programme of the IAEA has been recognised as an important delivery mechanism through which the Agency fulfils its statutory mandate to promote the peaceful uses of atomic energy. In recent years the Agency has become even more relevant in assisting Member States towards the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as adopted by the General Assembly in 2015. This International TC Conference, will therefore provide Member States with an ideal opportunity to collectively reflect on how the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme continues to assist countries through nuclear science and technology to address their socio-economic development challenges. The TC Programme provides an important support to countries in areas such as human health, food and agriculture, environment and water resources management and industrial applications in support of their national development priorities. For example in the area of human health, the IAEA supported global efforts to fight the outbreak of the Ebola Viral Diseases in West Africa, in 2015, using a nuclear diagnostic technique for rapid identification of the virus. In addition, the Agency provided assistance in the form of equipment, laboratory supplies and technical advice, to supplement the limited capacities of these countries.

[en] Bangladesh enjoys an excellent collaboration with IAEA. We have successfully completed 138 national projects under Technical Cooperation (TC) and participated in 111 regional projects under Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA). Recently Bangladesh successfully hosted the 39th Meeting of the National RCA representatives. Under the framework of IAEA’s Technical Cooperation programme, we have received support in many areas, such as, promoting nuclear education and research, food safety, food security, human healthcare improvement, use of isotopes techniques in water and environment system management, industrial applications like Non Destructive Testing (NDT), crop and livestock improvement, control of pests etc. Amongst these many activities, let me share two concrete examples of Bangladesh’s achievement in the peaceful use of nuclear technology: First, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) has developed high yielding, high nutritive, short duration, salt and submergence tolerant, climate resilient mutant varieties of different crops, by using nuclear technology, radiation and other advanced techniques. We have already developed 92 improved varieties of 13 crops. BINA was awarded with the “Outstanding Achievement Award” in 2014 by FAO-IAEA for its contribution towards the achievement of food security. Bangladesh today is self-sufficient in staple food production and even able to export surplus food grains. Second, the number of people who can affordably access diagnostic medical care in Bangladesh has increased 10 times over the last twenty years, as the country has expanded and strengthened its nuclear medicine services. 15 public and 6 private nuclear medicine Institutes in the country carry out more than 400,000 nuclear medicine procedures each year in the areas of oncology, cardiology, nephrology, Thyroid, invitro studies and cerebral studies. Uses of most recent nuclear technologies in the treatment of cancer are a real help to the people of Bangladesh. We have also built well-trained medical staff, advanced imaging tools and a cost-effective source of essential radiopharmaceuticals. As a result, life expectancy has increased and public health indicators have improved remarkably.