“The IAEA supports least developed countries (LDCs) in training and education through short and long term trainings both Master’s and PhD programmes, and in doing so, supports both human and institutional capacities,” said Ambassador Teodolinda Rosa Rodrigues Coelho of Angola, Chair of Vienna-based African Group, speaking at a roundtable discussion organized by the IAEA on the margins of the First Preparatory Committee Meeting (PrepCom1) of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5).
The roundtable, held on 28 May, the final day of the PrepCom meeting, brought together four Ambassadors and Agency counterparts to showcase results and impact achieved through the technical cooperation (TC) programme to build human and institutional capacities in LDCs.
Since 1971, least developed countries have been recognized by the United Nations as a category of States whose development is constrained by structural, historical and geographical factors. Since 1981, the United Nations has organized a high-level conference every 10 years to evaluate and address the unique obstacles which hinder or delay the development of LDCs, with the fifth conference, LDC5 scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar in January 2022.
Through its TC programme, and with the support of international partners, the IAEA offers support to LDCs to address the capacity gaps in the areas of food and agriculture, health and nutrition, water and environment, energy, industry, and safety and security, using nuclear science and technology.
The speakers—from Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh and Senegal—described how the IAEA’s capacity-building efforts, delivered through training, education and technology transfers, contribute directly to improving socioeconomic conditions in LDCs. As new capacities are developed, LDCs are more and more able to maximize the benefits of nuclear technologies, accelerating the process.
