OREANDA-NEWS. April 2, 2009. The national training course on the State System of Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (SSAC) organized by the Department of Safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Sun Scientific Production Association affiliated with the Supreme Council of Science and Technology under the President of Turkmenistan is conducted in Ashgabat. The seminar brought together the representatives of the ministries and departments including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Ministry of Oil and Gas and Mineral Resources.

Turkmenistan’s positive experience in successfully implementing the fundamental reforms that prioritized environmental security and protection of people’s health is of great interest to the world community that is vividly evidenced by cooperation with the IAEA.

To provide technical assistance and consultations the specialists of the IAEA Department of Safeguards conducted a series of the trainings on accounting and control of nuclear materials and facilities in Ashgabat and in Vienna (Austria) on the invitation of the IAEA.

The visit of the IAEA experts to Turkmenistan is an important step to develop the constructive dialogue. During the visit to Ashgabat the international experts had the meetings and talks at the national ministries and departments and identified the key trends in further bilateral cooperation. The main goal of the training course is to introduce the objectives of safeguards, i.e. the measures taken by the IAEA to guarantee peaceful use of nuclear energy. The forum participants learnt about the main trends in the IAEA’s activities including designing reports and declarations under the agreements on safeguards, organization of nuclear export and import control system, nuclear nonproliferation regime, nuclear material accountancy.

During the visit the IAEA experts together with the representatives of national contact centre will conduct the first inspection of nuclear materials subject to safeguards and declared by the national contact centre in the annual reports in under the agreement on safeguards.