Vietnam has signed the Country Program Framework (CPF) for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), becoming the first country to ink the agreement with the organization for 2022-2027.

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to IAEA (R) and Hua Liu, Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA at the signing ceremony in Vienna, Austria on Mar 10. Photo: VNA

The CPF, which was signed on the sidelines of the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on Mar 10, enabled IAEA to recognize Vietnam’s interest and needs in the application of nuclear technology, said Hua Liu, Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA.

He said the framework is essential for IAEA in developing the annual Technical Cooperation (TC) Program. TC is a primary mechanism for transferring nuclear technology to IAEA member states, helping them to address key development priorities in areas such as health and nutrition, food and agriculture, water and the environment, industrial applications, and nuclear knowledge development and management.

Hua Liu said the cooperation projects between Vietnam and IAEA signed for 2022-23 are all in line with the CPF 2022-27.

He appreciated Vietnam’s role in regional cooperation in nuclear technology development, especially in capacity building for Cambodia and Laos through the Practical

Arrangements for Triangular Cooperation on nuclear techniques. Vietnam has helped bolster the national TC programs of its neighbors by sending experts and lecturers to nuclear science and technology institutions in Cambodia and Laos.

Regarding CPF, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to IAEA said the agreement becomes meaningful given that Vietnam will chair the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA) in 2022-23.

He highlighted Vietnam’s priority in the RCA Chairmanship is to boost IAEA’s role in developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

At the 65th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference in September 2021, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien affirmed that the cooperation and support of the IAEA through technical cooperation projects help Vietnam implement its new research reactor project and gain important achievements in the application of nuclear energy in various field, such as healthcare, agriculture, industry, environmental protection, water resources development, response to climate change, radiation and nuclear safety infrastructure development.