The IAEA has conducted its first official fact finding mission to two of its newest Member States, Samoa and Tonga, to gain an overview of the two countries’ needs and the opportunities for IAEA support. During the mission last month, IAEA staff met with government officials and experts from the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Environment and Education of both Samoa and Tonga.
“By speaking directly with national counterparts and visiting national facilities, the IAEA was able to gain a better understanding of the development context and institutional arrangements in Samoa and Tonga and to identify potential opportunities for the IAEA to provide technical assistance. Nuclear science and technology can often complement existing national development programmes,” explained Gashaw Wolde, Section Head in the Division for Asia and the Pacific at the IAEA’s Department of Technical Cooperation.
Samoa and Tonga are both officially classified as small island developing States (SIDS). Due to their geographic isolation, dispersed populations and reliance on the ocean for their livelihoods, SIDS face specific development challenges. They lack resilience to shocks and have a heightened vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Many SIDS also face a shortage of qualified technical personnel. South-South cooperation is of key importance to SIDS, because of their lack of skilled and experienced workers in the nuclear science and technology field.
“The Pacific Islands, and nations like Tonga, face a future with extreme vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. We must work together to build Pacific resilience in the face of more frequent and severe disasters and ongoing climate change threats,” said Paula Ma'u, the Chief Secretary and Secretary to the Cabinet of Tonga’s Prime Minister’s Office.