OREANDA-NEWS. September 26, 2016. The Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada will contribute \\$2.3 million in support of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories ReNuAL project. These IAEA laboratories provide unique technical assistance to member states in the peaceful application of nuclear technology.

The IAEA’s eight nuclear applications laboratories support research, offer analytical services and provide training and education in areas including food and agriculture, human health, the environment and the development and use of advanced scientific techniques. The laboratories also contribute to member states’ capacities to apply nuclear technologies in a safe and secure manner and in accordance with non-proliferation obligations.

The annual general conference of the IAEA will take place in Vienna, Austria, from September 26 to 30, 2016. Kim Rudd, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, will be Canada’s head of delegation. The conference will be an opportunity to demonstrate Canada’s support of the IAEA as well as of its ReNuAL project.

Quotes

“Canada supports the IAEA’s important scientific and technical work and its efforts to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Our contribution to the IAEA ReNuAL project will help to advance important objectives related to the Global Health Security Agenda and ensure that nuclear technologies are used in a safe and secure manner that does not contribute to the threat of nuclear proliferation.”

- Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Quick facts

  • The IAEA is the world’s centre of cooperation in the nuclear field. The agency works with its member states and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
  • Over 150 IAEA member states, including Canada, receive assistance from and cooperate with the nuclear applications laboratories, which were established in 1962.
  • Canada’s contribution, through the Global Partnership Program, has filled a funding gap and allowed the ReNuAL project to begin. This contribution to the ReNuAL project complements Canada’s \\$128,400 contribution made earlier in 2016 to the IAEA’s Peaceful Uses Initiative to assist member states in their implementation of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources.
  • Global Affairs Canada’s Global Partnership Program was established in 2002 and has to date delivered over \\$1.2 billion in programming to reduce the threats posed by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear proliferation and terrorism.
  • The Global Health Security Agenda was launched in February 2014 and is a growing partnership of nearly 50 nations, international organizations and non-governmental stakeholders. It aims to build countries’ capacities to create a world safe from infectious-disease threats and to elevate global health security as national and global priorities.