How to strengthen the implementation and planning of the IAEA technical cooperation (TC) programme in Europe and Central Asia was the topic of discussion among 46 National Liaison Officers and Assistants in a meeting in Vienna last week, on the margins of the IAEA’s 64th General Conference. National Liaison Officers (NLOs) and Assistants (NLAs) form the primary contact point between the Agency and its Member State on matters relating to the IAEA, and particularly to the TC programme.
In his opening remarks to participants, Dazhu Yang, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the TC Department, highlighted the Agency’s ongoing implementation of its largest TC project to date in support of Member State efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and said that testing equipment and consumables had been delivered to 23 countries in Europe and Central Asia. “Nuclear science and technology continue to demonstrate their unique role in sustainable development, as well as in emergency response,“ he said.
Stressing the importance of enhancing the shared responsibility for the TC programme between Member States and the Secretariat, Eve-Külli Kala, the newly-appointed Director of the TC Division for Europe, said: “It is especially crucial today, when the global community is facing unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have to remain committed to joining our efforts in common cause to deliver the programme.”
