National Liaison Officers and Assistants from Europe and Central Asia Discuss Strengthening Regional Technical Cooperation Programme

The new TC fellowship training for NLAs will take place twice a year, with close to ten fellows per session. It provides a unique opportunity for NLAs to deepen their expertise and broaden their networks, ultimately strengthening their capacity to facilitate international partnerships.  “As we embark on this inaugural journey, we look forward to implementing the positive impact of this training by promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy and advancing sustainable development with application of nuclear techniques in our country. Now that we have the necessary skills, we can maximize the utilization of resources, increase the TC Programme's effectiveness in our countries, and deepen our cooperation with the IAEA,” remarked Ms Sibel ÜNLÜ from the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK).

“The fellowship training is helping to obtain know-how on the TC programme. It entails presentations by the technical departments and TC and on job-training. It also allows time for important activities such as development of the Country Programme Framework”, said Olimjon Azizov, NLA from the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Safety and Security Agency (National Atomic Energy Authority) of Tajikistan.

At the meeting, IAEA Section Head Sandra Steyskal presented the current implementation status of the ongoing 2022–2023 TC programme, as well as the proposed TCEU programme for 2024-2025.

Jing Zhang, another Section Head of the TC Division for Europe, presented the recent success story of an international workshop on Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology held in Sanya, China that was organized by the IAEA and the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), with the participation of over 200 government officials and researchers representing more than 50 countries.

Stressing the priorities of the region and the challenges ahead, Director of the TC Division for Europe Eve-Külli Kala said, “Strengthening the impact of the Technical Cooperation Programme and related activities is our main priority. It includes continual improvement of project design quality and professional management of the project implementation, which means shared responsibility and joint efforts, and asks commitment and dedication from all of us.”

Finally, turning the attention of participants to the technical cooperation interregional programme and to the topic of climate change, Martin Krause, Director of the TC Division of Programme Support and Coordination, provided a briefing on the TC interregional projects and spoke about the IAEA activities on climate change mitigation and adaptation, using nuclear technology and techniques.  

“Through 370 ongoing technical cooperation projects, the IAEA is helping countries around the world to both mitigate the effects of climate change, by reducing emissions and enhancing carbon sinks, and to adapt to its effects by helping to adjust national systems regulating water-use, land management and pollution,” explained Director Krause.

“Through approximately 300 ongoing technical cooperation projects, the IAEA is helping countries around the world to both mitigate change, by reducing emissions and enhancing carbon sinks, and to adapt to its effects. Support to climate adaptation focusses on climate smart agriculture; land, soil and water management; and ocean change,” explained Director Krause. “The Agency furthermore supports the scientific monitoring of climate change by providing precise, proven technology to measure ocean acidification, carbon emissions and more.”  

Director Krause also briefed the participants on the IAEA’s participation in the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), scheduled to take place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai.  

National Liaison Officers and Assistants from 31 countries from the Europe region participated in the meeting, including delegates from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, , Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan.