UAE to make invaluable connections at conference

ABU DHABI // The UAE will be able to contribute to and benefit from the General Conference and the scientific forum in Vienna in more ways than one.

“Networking is always important to see if regional coordinated research programmes can be developed with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” said Dr Peter Bode, an associate professor in nuclear science and engineering at the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. “The side-event on radioactive waste is important because newcomer nuclear countries like the UAE can inform them on the state of the practice and anticipate what will be needed in the future in their countries.”

William Tobey, a senior research fellow at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University in the US, said the UAE, as an emerging nuclear energy state, would benefit generally from a healthy nuclear industry.

“A safety accident or security incident anywhere will affect nuclear enterprises everywhere,” he said. “So it is in the interest of all member states to take coordinated and effective action.”

John Bernhard, the former Danish ambassador to the IAEA, said the events represented the best opportunity for the UAE and all member-states to express their views and exert influence on a number of nuclear related issues, at the highest level, and to participate in the adoption of a number of resolutions about the work, both past and future, of the agency.