The 63rd Annual Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference was held in Vienna.
The Conference brought together high-ranking delegates from more than 170 IAEA Member States to discuss the most relevant issues and set priority directions for developing cooperation in the global nuclear industry.
Director General of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev headed the official delegation. In his speech at the plenary session, he emphasized that the most important objective is to maximize the potential of nuclear technologies in order to implement the decisions of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and achieve sustainable development goals. Likhachev also highlighted the importance of applying diversified nuclear energy solutions: “Another promising area is the introduction of small and medium capacity reactors. This opens up new opportunities to develop hard-to-reach regions where safe and affordable energy is needed”.
Also, a number of documents of strategic importance were signed on the sidelines of the Conference. On September 17, Governments of the Russian Federation and of the Republic of Uganda signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. On the same day, ROSATOM and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of the Dominican Republic signed a Memorandum of cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy, which became the first document signed by the two countries in this area. Further, ROSATOM and the IAEA signed agreements to foster cooperation in the economic evaluation methodology in the nuclear power industry.
As part of the Conference’s business agenda, several events were held with the participation of ROSATOM representatives. Alexander Merten, President of Rusatom – International Network, spoke at the session on the large-capacity NPP project in Uzbekistan. He underscored the significance of increasing public acceptance at each stage of the national nuclear program. ROSATOM Corporate Academy organized the session “Professional communities and cooperation development” featuring discussion of personnel development strategies for the energy sector.
At this year’s General Conference, ROSATOM traditionally presented its exposition demonstrating cutting-edge Russian nuclear technologies, as well as their contribution to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.
