Vietnam attends the regular meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in September 2023

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Governor and Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the IAEA, led the Vietnamese delegation to the third regular meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

The September 2023 session of the IAEA Board of Governors

The General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will hold its 67th session in Vienna, the capital of Austria, from 25 to 29 September.

Ahead of the session, the IAEA Board of Governors held its third regular meeting, attended by representatives of the 35 member States of the Board, together with a number of IAEA Member States and international organisations as observers.

The Vietnamese delegation to the event was led by Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Governor and Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the IAEA, with the participation of representatives of specialised units of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security.

Vietnamese delegates attending the session

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Central and Eastern Europe, the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors took place from 11 to 15 September and focused on reviewing and discussing the IAEA’s annual reports, including the Annual Report, the Technical Cooperation Report and the Safeguards Implementation Report, with a view to agreeing on, adopting and submitting them to the 67th session of the IAEA General Conference.

In addition, the member States of the Board also discussed a number of other matters, such as the implementation of the safeguards agreements between the IAEA and Iran, the DPRK and Syria, as well as a number of emerging issues such as the safety and security situation of nuclear power plants in Ukraine and the trilateral cooperation pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines (AUKUS).

In his opening statement, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi pledged that the IAEA would respond quickly and in a timely manner to provide technical assistance and support to the victims of the devastating earthquake that had just struck Morocco.

He also provided an update on the discharge into the sea, since 24 August, by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) of water treated through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

He affirmed that IAEA experts had provided assistance to ensure that international safety standards relevant to this matter were met and would continue to monitor seawater in the period ahead.

Director General Grossi stressed that the IAEA always made efforts to provide timely support to its Member States within the scope of its mandate, notably the support given by the United Nations Security Council last May to the five principles proposed by the IAEA to ensure the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and called on the parties concerned to continue to observe them.

He also outlined the 53 missions that the IAEA had carried out since 31 August 2022, including missions at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine.

Director General Grossi also affirmed that the IAEA would continue to help countries address some of their most pressing development challenges through the use of nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.

According to Director General Grossi, the IAEA is launching a new initiative called Atoms4Food, aimed at helping Member States to increase food production, food safety, agricultural planning and nutrition programming using nuclear and isotopic techniques. This will require close cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Initiatives such as Rays of Hope, ZODIAC (Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action) and NUTEC Plastics (Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution) have all made notable progress in their implementation.

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien speaking at the session

At the meeting, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy of supporting non-proliferation and moving towards the complete and thorough elimination of nuclear weapons, stressing the need for balance between the three pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), thereby upholding the right of countries to use nuclear energy and apply nuclear technology for peaceful purposes on the basis of international law and obligations under the NPT; he highlighted Vietnam’s efforts and achievements in the field of nuclear safeguards, and affirmed that Vietnam has always supported the role of the IAEA.

The Ambassador commended the technical cooperation programmes, especially those being implemented between Vietnam and the IAEA such as the ZODIAC programme, welcomed Director General Grossi’s Atoms4Food initiative, and requested the IAEA to continue to strengthen its support for and technical cooperation with Vietnam in areas of mutual interest.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Vietnamese delegation hosted a reception in appreciation of the support and fruitful cooperation of international friends during its term as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors.

Ms Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, speaking at the side event of the Vietnamese delegation

The reception was attended by Ms Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, as guest of honour.

The event was also attended by Mr Hua Liu, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation; ambassadors and heads of mission of the member States of the Board of Governors for the 2022-2023 term; members of the IAEA Secretariat; and representatives of officials of the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS) attending the meeting.

Vietnam is expected to conclude its term as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors for 2021-2023 after the Board of Governors session next October.

During its term, Vietnam actively took part in discussions and coordinated positions with the member States of the IAEA Board of Governors, thereby effectively supporting the work of understanding and following the views of other countries and of advising on and shaping Vietnam’s positions and views on the topical issues discussed at the meetings.

In addition, as a member, Vietnam also added its voice to that of the Group of 77 (the largest intergovernmental coalition of developing countries) in promoting the development and application of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and for sustainable development, and in particular in advocating stronger IAEA technical assistance for this group of countries.

Vietnam was elected a member of the IAEA Board of Governors, which has 35 members, in September 2021 for a two-year term from 2021 to 2023. The IAEA Board of Governors holds four sessions each year, in March, June, September and November.

Vietnam is expected to serve as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors until the end of the 67th session of the IAEA General Conference.