(As prepared for delivery)?
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am very pleased to welcome you all to Vienna for this meeting of IAEA National Liaison Officers. I believe it is the first time that NLOs from all regions have come together.
I am delighted to see some familiar faces here today.
When I visit Member States, I usually spend a lot of time with the National Liaison Officer. I have found them to be extremely knowledgeable and informative, and also very hospitable. I am grateful for the very warm welcomes which I receive.
You have an extremely important job, serving as the primary contact person between the IAEA and your country. You have two key roles to play: helping the Agency to understand your needs, and helping your country to understand the Agency. ?
It is, of course, your country, not the Agency, which decides which nuclear technology you wish to use. Careful analysis of your needs and good coordination are essential before you present the TC projects you want to the Agency. This is the key to success.
It is important that you make different stakeholders such as lawmakers, government departments, nuclear regulators, doctors and scientists aware of what nuclear technology has to offer, what the Agency can do for them, and how to work most effectively with us.
Our mission is to transfer nuclear technology, but we are not a funding organization.
The IAEA is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Our conference on technical cooperation, starting tomorrow, will highlight some of our key achievements of the past six decades in making nuclear science and technology available for development.
The focus of our work is food and agriculture, human and animal health, water management and the environment – to name just a few applications.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The success of the IAEA technical cooperation programme relies very much on the commitment of Member States.
National Liaison Officers have a key role to play. You help to identify, design, implement and monitor TC projects. You assist in ensuring the efficient delivery of high-quality services.
Coordination of different needs and wishes is one of the most important roles of NLOs. NLOs are most effective when they work closely with all their national counterparts, throughout government and in research and scientific institutes.
As you may know, our Board of Governors asked us last year to put appropriate emphasis on activities directly related to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in preparing our 2018-2019 Programme and Budget.
It is therefore important that each country should think strategically about the TC support it would like from the Agency. Please make sure that your proposals are aligned with your national priorities under the SDGs – although they need not be strictly limited to the SDGs.
Needless to say, it is essential that all contributions to the TC Fund, and National Participation Costs, should be paid on time and in full. Otherwise, it is difficult for us to do our job.
Our work has most impact when each country makes sure that the necessary personnel and physical infrastructure is in place to ensure successful implementation of TC projects.
Delivering concrete results is most important for you and for us. Please inform us about progress and achievements in implementing TC projects – as well as about shortcomings.
Constructive feedback helps us to understand what we are doing well and identify areas where we could do better. My colleagues and I are keen to deliver the best results and make a real difference to the lives of the people of your country.
We would be grateful if you could make the public aware of the work of the IAEA in your country and of our contribution to national development. Nuclear technology often has a negative image in the public mind, whereas, in reality, it has a very positive impact on development and prosperity.
And please encourage your schoolchildren and university students, especially girls and young women, to consider careers in the nuclear field. They might even think about coming to work for the IAEA one day.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My observation from my visits to many countries is that TC projects are successful when we have capable NLOs. In general, they should not be too junior, because they might not have enough influence in their country to get things done. But nor should they be too senior, because they might not have enough time to devote to IAEA business. It is also important that NLOs stay in their position for a reasonable period of time, rather than being rotated frequently, in order to ensure continuity.
I thank you all for the important work you are doing to ensure that nuclear science and technology make an effective contribution to development in your country.
You are key partners for the Agency. We will benefit greatly from your ideas and insights at this meeting.
With your support, we will continue to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the IAEA technical cooperation programme in the years to come, for the benefit of all of your people
Thank you.