32nd Meeting of AFRA Representatives

The 32nd Meeting of AFRA Representatives was convened on 9th September in advance of the 65th IAEA General Conference and was attended by more than 124 high-level delegates of AFRA State Parties, 88 virtually and 36 in-person. The meeting participants included 24 Ambassadors from African Permanent Missions to the IAEA, and they were joined by a delegate of the United States who participated as an observer. The attendees endorsed the 2020 AFRA Annual Report, adopted the recommendation of Rwanda to host the 2022 TWGM, and the appointment of new members of AFRA’s three management committees.

Opening the meeting, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi cited the great suffering and hardship that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide. He highlighted IAEA’s assistance to 129 countries around the world, 44 of which were in Africa. “This experience, as part of the global pandemic response effort, reminds us of the value of international cooperation”, said the Director General, advocating for enhanced collaboration between the IAEA and AFRA States Parties.

Hua Liu, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, emphasized the need for Africa to establish and manage its own nuclear technology centres for training and development. Noting the availability of competent professionals and many high-quality institutions in Africa in the fields of human health, food and agriculture, industrial applications and more, he encouraged AFRA State Parties to identify more training centres that could be utilized to address the needs of the continent, which is one of the strategic goals of the Agreement.

Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, highlighted the value of the AFRA agreement. “Over several years, I have seen the significant contribution of AFRA to the well-being of millions of Africans through science and technology,” she said.

Mr. Abdulrazak also noted the importance of the AFRA agreement in driving forward concrete action on regional priorities.

He pointed out that AFRA submitted 18 regional project proposals for the   2022-23 TC Cycle, each addressing high priority areas. He emphasized that the AFRA State Parties would play an important role in improving the quality of TC programme implementation through enhanced monitoring towards clear outcomes at both the national and regional levels.

At the meeting, Benin’s term as AFRA Chair concluded and Niger’s tenure began. It was agreed that Rwanda would take over the AFRA Chair in September 2022.

Oscar Meless, PMO, TCAF