WINS would like to join others in congratulating Argentine diplomat Rafael Mariano Grossi, who has been elected Director General of the IAEA by its Board of Governors.
Ambassador Grossi is a career diplomat with more than 35 years of professional experience in the field of nonproliferation and disarmament. He began working at the IAEA in 2010 as Assistant Director General for Policy and Chief of Cabinet under the late Director Yukiya Amano. In 2013, he became the Ambassador of Argentina to Austria and International Organisations in Vienna.
In an interview with Energy Intelligence that took place on 20 September 2019, Ambassador Grossi set out some of his priorities. He said that he believes the IAEA needs to have a bigger voice in all debates about the future of nuclear energy and to play a bigger role in safety and security. Ambassador Grossi also believes that more could be accomplished if the IAEA works in partnership with other organisations, including sister UN organisations.
In response to the announcement of Ambassador Grossi’s appointment, WINS Executive Director Roger Howsley said:
This is wonderful news! Ambassador Grossi’s in-depth knowledge of the IAEA and the issues it is facing—as well as his diplomatic skills, can-do attitude and desire to be an honest broker for all—assures all of us that he is the right leader for these challenging times.
The central philosophy at WINS is that there needs to be much stronger cooperation between organisations to address some of the serious challenges in the world. It is so refreshing to think that the IAEA could take these important and long overdue steps, just as other UN affiliated organisations have done for many years. Benchmarking best practices between the IAEA and other UN organisations to see what works well and where improvements can be implemented is clearly the most efficient way to make progress. (Our forthcoming report benchmarking the IAEA and ICAO will be highly informative in this regard.)
I am also pleased that Ambassador Grossi shares my commitment to being an International Gender Champion and believes that ‘gender equality benefits all, and that men and women must be allies in bringing about a meaningful and mutually beneficial change, including by promoting true equality in all aspects in education, in science and technology and in the workplace’.
WINS looks forward to collaborating with the IAEA under the leadership of Ambassador Grossi on a wide range of nuclear security issues that are of global importance.
