(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar has reiterated its call for applying safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Middle East, in support of the efforts aimed at achieving the universality of the comprehensive safeguards as a fundamental step for establishing the nuclear-weapon-free zone.
This came in remarks delivered by HE the Chairman of the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW), Abdulaziz Salmeen Aljabri, before the 67th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference currently being convened in Vienna.
He said Qatar aspires to active role to be undertaken by the Director-General of IAEA to help break the current stalemate and achieve progress towards establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
In the remarks, Qatar called on governments and international organisations to advance their role under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in reflecting the current direction, as well as activate the mechanisms of implementing the NPT Article VI.
It also urged nations to practise their role in reminding politicians of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences arising from any use of nuclear weapons and the significance of entirely banning and eliminating them.
In the remarks of Qatar, Aljabri touched on the tremendous progress Qatar is witnessing in the peaceful applications of nuclear technology and expansion in building national capabilities for environmental, food, industrial, agricultural and health sectors, pointing to the significance of technical and cooperation programmes with IAEA represented in providing essential training and technical support, as well as consultations and field trips.
In light of its National Vision 2030, and through its country program framework for the technical co-operation singed with IAEA in May 2022, Aljabri said Qatar submitted a proposal of new national projects for the upcoming session of IAEA 2024-2025, as Qatar participates in many regional projects through ARASIA Agreement in multiple fields, and embarked on measures to establish the secondary calibration laboratory which is considered the largest of its kind in the region.
HE the Chairman of NCPW announced that Qatar started to carry out a comprehensive review to upgrade its policies and strategies in nuclear and radioactive safety and security with the objective of undergirding its infrastructure in these fields in conformity with its national programmes and plans to ensure safety and security of its citizens and aspires to assist IAEA through its various programmes to execute this plan.
With regard to nuclear and radioactive emergencies, nuclear safety and security and combating trafficking, he said Qatar has maximised border surveillance through installing radiation detection gates in all border ports of the State, adding that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) has boosted its regulatory and surveillance role to ensure protection for human and environment from any potential risks of contamination and exposure to radiation through the radiation monitoring stations installed in all areas of Qatar, and preparing a radiation map of the country for air, water and soil.
He added that MoECC has prepared an efficient national programme to manage and treat a variety of radioactive waste, particularly those generated from oil and gas production.
Aljabri affirmed that Qatar is committed to implementing the international conventions, especially the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS), pointing out that Qatar has submitted its first report to IAEA in this respect, stemming from its keenness to support all efforts aimed at bolstering nuclear safety globally.
He announced Qatar's intention to convene a national forum for the peaceful utilisation of atomic energy and its role in national development with the objective of promoting knowledge about nuclear technologies and their peaceful uses with the engagement of all relevant entities in the state in the first quarter of 2024. He recalled the invitation that had been directed to the professionals in IAEA to attend this critical forum.
Qatar is participating in the 67th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference currently held in Vienna from Sept 25-29, with a delegation led by Aljabri and membership of Acting charge d'affaires at the Qatari embassy and other international organisations in Vienna Jamal bin Abdul Rahman al-Jaber.
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