WINS welcomes IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi’s pledge to utilise the current momentum to strengthen international cooperation in nuclear security.
The Director General made the remarks at an event convened by the Vienna Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in the run-up to the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS) with the theme Building Bridges and Facilitating Consensus for a Successful ICONS 2020.
Director General Grossi said he expected Member States to highlight their political commitment to nuclear security at the conference. “Our job is to ensure that those political commitments are realised. I will work to expand our support to all Agency Member States. This will be a priority for me as Director General,” he said.
“It is vital that we remain ahead of the curve in guarding against nuclear terrorism,” he added.
In particular WINS welcomes the Director General’s desire to strengthen the international norms that support nuclear security with a view to these reaching the same maturity level as those norms that support nuclear safety. WINS agrees with the Director General’s desire for a high level of ambition to achieve this result.
Dr Roger Howsley, Executive Director of WINS noted, “We are strong supporters of strengthening the international norms for security, as happened in the civil aviation sector 20 years ago under the supervision of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its Member States. It is our conviction that this would be a cost effective development for the civil nuclear sector and the IAEA. Focusing on sustainable and meaningful outcomes would create a more positive political environment for nuclear energy to contribute to climate change objectives.”
In addition to Director General Grossi, the event featured Ambassador Cristian Istrate, Permanent Resident Representative of Romania to the IAEA and Co-chair of ICONS 2020, and Ambassador Omar Amer Youssef, Permanent Resident Representative of Egypt to the IAEA and Co-chair of the Programme Committee. Ambassador Laura Holgate, vice-president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, also presented on the panel, discussing the important role of the NGO community in the future of nuclear security.
