The world's foremost authorities on nuclear safeguards and verification are examining current and future challenges facing the nuclear verification regime at a five-day International Symposium at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna. The theme of the 2014 Safeguards Symposium is how best to link strategy, implementation and people and the agenda covers such issues as safeguards technologies, concepts and approaches, equipment and communication, detection, analytical services, future nuclear fuel cycles and training. The event provides an important forum for interaction between the IAEA and its Member States on a wide variety of international safeguards issues.
"Effective and efficient safeguards implementation requires a cooperative effort between the Agency and States," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano noted in his opening statement to the Symposium, alluding to the safeguards resolution adopted at the IAEA General Conference in September 2014.
"This cooperative effort takes place every day through the work of our inspectors in the field and our headquarters staff in Vienna, together with their counterparts in the 181 countries in which we implement safeguards," Director General Amano said.
"Linking the three core processes of any business - the strategy, its implementation and the people doing the work - determines the success or failure of every organization. And the strength of the link between these three processes determines the degree to which a business is able to deliver what it wants to achieve. The IAEA is no exception," IAEA Department of Safeguards Head, Tero Varjoranta, told the Symposium in his opening remarks.
"To achieve our vision, meet our obligations and fulfil the expectation of our Member States requires the careful and successful linking of strategy, implementation and people, and that is what we will all be focusing on during our deliberations this week."
Since the 2010 Safeguards Symposium, the IAEA has published the Department of Safeguards' Long-Term R&&D Plan, 2012-2023. The objective of the 2014 Safeguards Symposium is to foster dialogue, exchange information and to promote cooperation using this research and development plan. The goal is to make progress towards achieving the Department's strategic objectives of deterring the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and continually improving and optimizing Departmental operations and capabilities.
The opening plenary also featured statements by the Director General of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Vladimir Šucha; Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Grigory V. Berdennikov; Policy Director of the United States Office of Non-Proliferation and National Security, Kasia Mendelsohn; European Safeguards Research and Development Association (ESARDA) President, Klaas Van der Meer; and the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) President, Larry Satkowiak.
The Safeguards Symposium occupies a key role in this cooperative effort. Every four years, it brings together key interested parties from the Agency and Member States for an in-depth, week-long examination of key issues in nuclear verification.
With over 350 papers due to be presented during the Symposium and 700 expected participants, there will be much information to nourish the discussion, and ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience from the best experts around the world in this field.
The Symposium is organized by the IAEA in cooperation with ESARDA and INMM.
The closing plenary will be streamed live on the Symposium's website.