ANSTO joined the Australian delegation at the 68th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month in Vienna, participating in a number of insightful side-events and fruitful bilateral partnership meetings.
Delegates from the Australian Safeguards Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO), the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), the Australian Radiation Waste Agency (ARWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also joined the Australian delegation. Australia's delegation at the General Conference was headed by H.E Ambassador Ian Biggs, Head of Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA.
Just prior to the General Conference, Senior Manager International Affairs, Natascha Spark attended the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA) 53rd General Conference Meeting (GCM), where she is an active member of the Chairs Committee
The RCA is a Treaty level agreement between 22 countries in Asia and the Pacific under the auspices of the IAEA. The RCA technical collaboration partnerships deliver n social and economic impact, making our region more secure, connected and prosperous.
Natascha also was a panel speaker at an RCA side-event during the General Conference , where she presented on our region's collective success in supporting social and economic change through the RCA regional technical cooperation program, with a focus on human health, food security and gender equity.
ANSTO's Group Executive for Nuclear Science and Technology Dr Andrew Peele delivered a presentation on ANSTO's innovative food traceability research at the Scientific Forum 2024, held alongside the General Conference. This research is being shared with collaborators in the Asia Pacific region through the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA).
"It was heartening to see a great deal of interest in ANSTO's regional efforts to combat food fraud, support food security and sustainability through our innovative approach to food provenance," said Dr Peele.
A rigorous schedule of bilateral meetings also took place with ANSTO including discussions with executives of the IAEA and international partners such as CNEA and INVAP (Argentina), JAEA (Japan), BRIN (Indonesia), The Philippines, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, TINT (Thailand) and CEA (France), and many others.
ANSTO, alongside the Australian Resident Representative to the IAEA and other nuclear agencies, met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and provided an update on ANSTO's domestic nuclear science and technology priorities and activities. ANSTO also met with Deputy Directors General Najat Mokhtar and Hua Liu - Heads of the Department of Nuclear Science and Technology and Technical Cooperation, to discuss ways to further ANSTO's strong, sustained, cooperation with the IAEA, including to support research and capability development in Asia and the Pacific.
ANSTO, through its Counsellor (Nuclear) at the Australian Embassy and Permanent Mission to the UN, also participated in the policy discussions of the General Conference and engaged in ongoing negotiations of IAEA resolutions on nuclear security, nuclear safety, nuclear applications and technical cooperation. These were all adopted by consensus and are expected to shape the work of the IAEA over the coming year.
