U.S. Statement – As Prepared for U.S. Ambassador Laura S.H. Holgate – Agenda Item 3 – Strengthening of the Agency’s technical cooperation activities – Technical Cooperation Report for 2022
Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2023
Chair,
The United States thanks the Secretariat for preparing the detailed Technical Cooperation Report for 2022 and congratulates the Agency for its success in implementing the TC Program.
The United States recognizes that the TC Program plays a critical role in helping Member States to address pressing challenges and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As shown in the TC Report, the United States remains the leading financial supporter of TC activities, with over 50 million euros in combined contributions to the IAEA to support the TC Fund and extrabudgetary-funded projects in 2022. This is nearly 40 percent of TC resources, including almost 80 percent of TC extra-budgetary resources in 2022. We encourage all Member States to pay their share of the TCF, and we urge those with means to self-finance any participation in the TC Program to free up funding for those who need it most. We commend all Member States that provide extra-budgetary funds to support critical TC activities and encourage continued contributions to voluntary funding mechanisms such as the Peaceful Uses Initiative.
Our steadfast support of the TC Program underscores our commitment to improving lives around the world by promoting advances in human health, food and agriculture, energy, and environmental management, while demonstrating our commitment under Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Today, I am pleased to announce our support for a new allocation of 2.2 million dollars from voluntary contributions to support a new Peaceful Uses Initiative-funded pilot project using the Sterile Insect Technique to control mosquito populations in Brazil.
The United States welcomes IAEA initiatives such as Rays of Hope, NUTEC Plastics, ZODIAC, and the Global Water Analysis Laboratory Network, aimed at tackling urgent global challenges. We welcome the Agency’s efforts to encourage greater participation of women in its activities, including through the Marie Sklodowska Curie and Lise Meitner Fellowship Programs. We are pleased to support these initiatives through financial and in-kind contributions and encourage other donors to do the same.
Chair,
The United States supports the Agency’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with other organizations to promote acceptance of peaceful uses as a tool in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We wish to highlight the IAEA’s longstanding work with the Food and Agriculture Organization, including at the joint IAEA-FAO labs at Siebersdorf, and encourage enhanced cooperation to boost global food security and food safety. We welcome initiatives such as the recent meeting organized jointly by the IAEA and FAO with African Group Ambassadors in Vienna and Rome.
The United States continues to seek opportunities to amplify and mobilize support for the Agency’s work. Last year, we launched the Sustained Dialogue on Peaceful Uses with the United Kingdom. I am delighted to note that under this umbrella initiative, expert workshops on water resource management, nuclear medicine, and food security are being held this year in Jordan, Ghana, and the Philippines. We appreciate the support of the Secretariat in these dialogues and look forward to inviting broader participation, including from nontraditional donors and development actors, in future work.
We also welcome the IAEA’s support to Member States in developing and deploying promising advanced nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors, while promoting the highest international standards for safety, security, and safeguards. The United States is upbeat about the potential for small modular reactors for both power and non-power applications.
With these comments, we are pleased to take note of the TC Report for 2022.
Thank you, Chair.