At the meeting (Photo: VNA) Vienna (VNA) – Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Governor- Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA), has affirmed Vietnam's consistent policy of supporting the non-proliferation of the nuclear weapons, moving towards the complete and thorough nuclear disarmament.
Speaking atthe regular meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors that opened in Vienna on June 5, Ambassador Kien highlighted the need to balance the threepillars of the Treaty onthe Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), thereby elevating the rights ofcountries to use nuclear energy and technology for peaceful purposes inaccordance with international law and NPT obligations.
UnderliningVietnam’s efforts and achievements in nuclear safeguards, he affirmed that the country always supports IAEA’s role and values technical cooperation programmes,particularly ongoing ones between Vietnam and the IAEA such as the ZODIACprogramme and the trilateral project among Vietnam, Laos/Cambodia, and theIAEA. He also suggested the IAEA continue enhancing support for and technicalcooperation with Vietnam in this field.
The meeting will take place over the course of oneweek and focus on reviewing and discussing IAEA's annual, technical cooperationand nuclear safeguard reports, with the aim of reaching consensus on andsubmitting them to the 67th IAEA General Conference in September.
Other topicsof interest will also be tabled for discussions, such as the implementation of nuclearsafeguards agreements between IAEA and Iran, the Democratic People’s Republicof Korea, and Syria, and emerging security and safety issues at nuclear powerplants in Ukraine, and the trilateral security pact between the US, UK andAustralia on the hand-over of nuclear-powered submarines (AUKUS).
Vietnam waselected as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors in September 2021 for the 2021-2023term. The agency currently consists of 35 members, namely Argentina, Australia,Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic,Denmark, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, SouthAfrica, Japan, Russia, Pakistan, Finland, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, China, Australia, Uruguay, andVietnam. The IAEA Board of Governors holds four sessions each year in March,June, September, and November, with the annual IAEA General Conference in September./.
