VIENNA: The United Arab Emirates is taking part in the annual weeklong General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The UAE delegation, led by Hamad Ali Al Ka’abi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the IAEA, includes various national stakeholders in nuclear industry such as the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, FANR, and Emirates Nuclear Energy Cooperation, ENEC.
The General Conference is the highest policy-making body of the IAEA. It is composed of representatives of all member states of the agency. The General Conference meets annually, typically in September, to consider and approve the agency’s programme and budget and to decide on other matters brought before it by the board of governors, the Director-General and member states.
Al Kaabi will deliver a keynote speech to the plenary session of the General Conference that highlights the strong relationship that binds the IAEA and the UAE. He will talk about the status of the UAE Nuclear Energy Programme where it builds four units at Barakah, Al Dhafra region. The current construction rate of the project stands at 89 per cent as follows: Unit 1 (construction complete), Unit 2 (93 per cent), Unit 3 (84 per cent), and Unit 4 (75 per cent).
The UAE delegation will take part in different activities scheduled such as the scientific forum which will be convened in conjunction with the General Conference — entitled, ‘Nuclear Technology for Climate: Mitigation, Monitoring and Adaptation’.
The UAE will also take part in an IAEA event entitled, ‘IAEA support for Member States embarking on nuclear power: 10 years of the Milestones Approach and INIR Missions’, where IAEA conducted over 26 missions for member states embarking on introducing nuclear power. The UAE will officially receive the mission report on the Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review, INIR, where they visited the UAE between June 24 and July 1, 2018. The report provides a review of the nation’s overall nuclear energy infrastructure.
The UAE is the first country to implement and achieve Milestone 3 of the IAEA’s ‘Milestones’ approach to nuclear energy infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, senior leadership representing the UAE nuclear industry will host a side-event, titled, ‘UAE peaceful nuclear programme: Towards commissioning of the first nuclear power plant’, where they will shed light on the status of the UAE Nuclear Energy Programme and outlook for the next phase.
In addition, the UAE will host an event ‘Nuclear Power: The Way Forward and Young Professionals’, where its young professionals working in the nuclear industry represent their roles in the sector as well as the needs to build, maintain and retain highly-qualified generations to lead the nuclear sector.
