Statement by Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano at the IAEA Board of Governors in September 2016
2016/9/20
Item 6: Strengthening the Agency’s activities related to nuclear science, technology and applications
Mr. Chair,
Japan continues to strongly support Director General Yukiya Amano’s initiative “Atoms for Peace and Development,” under which the Agency helps Member States address their growing developmental needs through wide ranging activities of applications of nuclear science and technology. In order for the Agency to strengthen its activities in both power and non-power applications such as human health including cancer care, food and agriculture, water management and environment, further outreach efforts are essential.
As part of our support to the IAEA in this respect, Japan promoted the Agency’s active participation in the TICAD VI, 6th international conference on African development, which was held in Nairobi, Kenya, this August. The TICADVI was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and more than 30 Heads of State in Africa, many Heads of international organizations, and a wide range of stakeholders, including private companies and civil societies. DG Amano represented the IAEA and made speeches at three high-level events, namely, Thematic Session on human health, the First Ladies Seminar focused on maternal and child health, and the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum. In addition, the Agency, in cooperation with AFRA, set up an exhibition booth to demonstrate its activities. We highly commend the IAEA’s outreach efforts which have greatly impressed the Agency’s contribution in developmental area. Japan also would like to express its deep appreciation to Kenya for hosting the TICAD, and for making this event a huge success.
Mr. Chair,
The Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI) is a financial mechanism which allows expeditious and flexible support for the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Japan recognizes that the PUI has been making significant contributions to supporting developing countries in broad areas. Since May last year when we announced 25 million US dollars of PUI commitment for the next five years, Japan has contributed approximately 10 million US dollars.
As a concrete example, we have recently made a decision to allocate 927 thousand US dollars to “Improvement of Veterinary Laboratory Capabilities in South Saharan African Countries“, which is one of the most successful project in Africa. We strongly hope that this support will enable the project to continue and expand, thereby further improving food security in Africa and benefitting more people in wider areas. Japan will continue to cooperate closely with the Secretariat and relevant countries to support implementations of a variety of projects through its PUI.
Mr. Chair
Japan acknowledges that the Nuclear Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf have been playing an important role in the promotion of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Japan thus strongly supports the ReNuAL project and has allocated approximately 5 million US dollars in total from our PUI. Now we have a clear financial prospect of this project, thanks to the Secretariat’s continuous efforts and wide support from Member States and regional groups. We commend that the construction of the first building of IPCL has just started. The most important task for the Agency is to complete the current project on schedule and on budget, and we will closely follow the implementation. Japan hopes that all the Member States will receive the maximum benefits from this project as early as possible.
With these comments, Japan takes note of the report contained in GOV/2016/34-GC(60)/5, and supports the request to the Director General to submit the report to the General Conference.
Thank you, Mr Chair,
Japan continues to strongly support Director General Yukiya Amano’s initiative “Atoms for Peace and Development,” under which the Agency helps Member States address their growing developmental needs through wide ranging activities of applications of nuclear science and technology. In order for the Agency to strengthen its activities in both power and non-power applications such as human health including cancer care, food and agriculture, water management and environment, further outreach efforts are essential.
As part of our support to the IAEA in this respect, Japan promoted the Agency’s active participation in the TICAD VI, 6th international conference on African development, which was held in Nairobi, Kenya, this August. The TICADVI was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and more than 30 Heads of State in Africa, many Heads of international organizations, and a wide range of stakeholders, including private companies and civil societies. DG Amano represented the IAEA and made speeches at three high-level events, namely, Thematic Session on human health, the First Ladies Seminar focused on maternal and child health, and the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum. In addition, the Agency, in cooperation with AFRA, set up an exhibition booth to demonstrate its activities. We highly commend the IAEA’s outreach efforts which have greatly impressed the Agency’s contribution in developmental area. Japan also would like to express its deep appreciation to Kenya for hosting the TICAD, and for making this event a huge success.
Mr. Chair,
The Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI) is a financial mechanism which allows expeditious and flexible support for the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Japan recognizes that the PUI has been making significant contributions to supporting developing countries in broad areas. Since May last year when we announced 25 million US dollars of PUI commitment for the next five years, Japan has contributed approximately 10 million US dollars.
As a concrete example, we have recently made a decision to allocate 927 thousand US dollars to “Improvement of Veterinary Laboratory Capabilities in South Saharan African Countries“, which is one of the most successful project in Africa. We strongly hope that this support will enable the project to continue and expand, thereby further improving food security in Africa and benefitting more people in wider areas. Japan will continue to cooperate closely with the Secretariat and relevant countries to support implementations of a variety of projects through its PUI.
Mr. Chair
Japan acknowledges that the Nuclear Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf have been playing an important role in the promotion of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Japan thus strongly supports the ReNuAL project and has allocated approximately 5 million US dollars in total from our PUI. Now we have a clear financial prospect of this project, thanks to the Secretariat’s continuous efforts and wide support from Member States and regional groups. We commend that the construction of the first building of IPCL has just started. The most important task for the Agency is to complete the current project on schedule and on budget, and we will closely follow the implementation. Japan hopes that all the Member States will receive the maximum benefits from this project as early as possible.
With these comments, Japan takes note of the report contained in GOV/2016/34-GC(60)/5, and supports the request to the Director General to submit the report to the General Conference.
Thank you, Mr Chair,