Thirty years ago, during a meeting held at the IAEA's Vienna headquarters, the representatives of ten Member States signed the Regional Co-operation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL), formally establishing a framework for collaboration in the peaceful uses of nuclear techniques in the region.
In September 2014, the anniversary of the 1984 signing of the ARCAL agreement was observed at a side event organized in connection with the 15th Meeting of the Board of ARCAL Representatives Meeting (BAR) and held on the margins of the 58th IAEA General Conference (GC58).
With the 2012 accession of Jamaica to the agreement, the ARCAL programme is now composed of 21 States Parties. Three decades from its inception, it continues to provide a framework for the promotion of nuclear technologies and their peaceful application in Latin America and the Caribbean. Moreover, ARCAL fosters technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC)-contributing to regional socioeconomic development-and promotes an exchange of information and technical know-how in addressing the most important needs and problems of the region.
At present, 21 countries are party to the ARCAL agreement: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Since 2007, Spain has participated as a strategic partner of ARCAL.
During the side event, a new Regional Strategic Profile (RSP) for 2016-2021 was presented. The RSP is a strategic programmatic framework used to identify and prioritize the most pressing regional challenges in the ARCAL countries of Latin America which can be addressed using nuclear technologies. The 39 needs and problems identified are categorized in six thematic areas, representing priority areas for nuclear-related cooperation in the region. These areas are food security and agriculture, human health, environment, energy, radiation technology, and radiation safety.
The new RSP, in addition to serving as a programmatic reference of major importance for the preparation of project and programme proposals, is expected to help to attract strategic partners, from within the region and outside, to pursue projects with a larger scope, benefit and impact.
During the panel discussion component of the side event, ARCAL representatives, IAEA staff and key officials from the national counterparts shared their experience of preparing the Regional Strategic Profile. This entailed a three-year consultative process involving 80 experts and key officials to competently address all specific issues. The panel not only discussed the place of the RSP in paving the way to enhanced technical cooperation, but its members also examined how to increase the visibility of results generated by the technical cooperation (TC) projects.
In interviews broadcast by UN Radio, Cesar Cardozo, Chairman of the ARCAL Technical Coordination Board, and Segundo Urquiaga, an Agriculture and Food Safety expert, describe how the Regional Strategic Profile will facilitate efforts to address the most pressing development needs in the region.
The panellists emphasised that strategic planning is key to a successful outcome, and that enhancing communication, building partnership and monitoring the project implementation are priority issues in the ARCAL agenda.
The 30th anniversary event was also an opportunity to present a video featuring the results achieved under a regional TC project1 to consolidate tissue banks in Latin America and the Caribbean, a project which clearly reflects the successful cooperation between the IAEA and ARCAL. The video was produced by communication specialists in the region with the advice of tissue bank experts under another regional project2 to strengthen capabilities in communication in ARCAL countries.
The sustained commitment of ARCAL's States Parties has made it a highly effective mechanism for regional cooperation over the past 30 years, but the consensus among the States Parties to the Agreement is that more work lies ahead. Endorsing this consensus, Kwaku Aning, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, explained, "ARCAL's contribution to development in the region is increasingly visible, and several initiatives are being undertaken in order to share the results achieved." The DDG added, "I urge you to continue efforts and assure you of the IAEA's full cooperation through the Division of Latin America."
The foreseeable challenges of ARCAL include the extension of the agreement in 2015, the accession of new States Parties from the region, the strengthening of mechanisms to establish strategic partnerships, and the improvement of communication and outreach platforms which facilitate the promotion of socioeconomic achievements.
1 RLA/6/062
2 RLA/0/046
