ABU DHABI: The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, recognised the UAE for its support to strengthen IAEA’s safeguards activities globally.
The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the UAE’s independent nuclear regulator, stated this while participating last week in a three-day Member State Support (MSSP) Coordinator’s Meeting organised at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
FANR presented the UAE Safeguards Support Programme (UAESSP), signed with the IAEA in 2023 and led by the country’s nuclear regulator. Being the first programme in the Middle East, the UAESSP facilitates the IAEA to further its strategic plans and enhance the effectiveness and efficacy of safeguards. In addition to the UAE providing financial contributions, FANR also identifies and harnesses national and international knowledge and expertise that can support IAEA safeguards needs
UAESSP’s tasks will involve cooperation with other states who are parties in the MSSP t
o focus on specific areas such as research and development, testing of equipment and software, and developing and delivering safeguards training.
‘Joining the MSSP is intended to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the IAEA’s nuclear verification system. Our contributions in that framework should be sustainable, constructive, and pragmatic; should transfer the UAE’s expertise; support the development of new equipment and technology needed to support the IAEA in carrying out its important function: to ensure global nuclear non-proliferation,’ said Raoul Awad, Deputy Director-General for Operations of FANR.
Nuclear safeguards are technical measures embedded in bilateral agreements between the IAEA and a state, implemented by the IAEA to assure the international community that nuclear material remains in peaceful use.
Established in 1977 and currently having 24 countries, MSSPs have been assisting the application of safeguards, providing many of the tools and techniques presently used by IAEA inspe
ctors around the world for nuclear verification, and supporting the IAEA’s in-house capabilities. For example, the Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL), comprising 24 external laboratories in the IAEA Member States and the European Commission, analyse nuclear material and environmental samples on behalf of the department, supplementing the work performed at the IAEA’s own laboratories in Seibersdorf.
The UAE’s nuclear law calls on FANR to regulate the nation’s nuclear sector for peaceful purposes, and as part of its efforts to implement that mandate, FANR issued Regulation 09 on the Export and Import Control of Nuclear Material, Nuclear Related Items and Nuclear Related Dual-Use Items and Regulation 10 for the System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material and Application of Additional Protocol.
As FANR is mandated to regulate the UAE nuclear sector, FANR licences companies to conduct regulated activities, conducts inspection of licensees, and works in close cooperation with local and federal
government agencies to ensure compliance with international law and national laws and regulations.
Source: Emirates News Agency
