(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK, Oct 30 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait voiced appreciation to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi's valuable report and continued efforts in promoting peaceful nuclear use and ensuring global safety criteria.
Third Secretary at Kuwait's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York Abdulaziz Al-Saeedi made the statement during the 80th United Nations General Assembly session on the IAEA's Annual Report (Item 89) late Wednesday.
He reiterated Kuwait's utter backing to the IAEA's vital role in enabling member states to make use of nuclear sciences and technologies in serving sustainable development.
He also restated his country's unwavering commitment to close cooperation with the IAEA since Kuwait joined it in 1964, considering this cooperation a core pillar of developing national capabilities in health, agriculture, water and energy.
In this regard, he cited the national program of technical cooperation for 2020-2025, saying that several significant projects have contributed to supporting national development plans, while specialized bodies are now working with the IAEA to put the 2026-2035 new program framework in place in line with Kuwait's development vision.
The Kuwaiti diplomat called for maintaining the world nuclear safety system in order to ensure the stability of the international order amid growing tensions and lack of confidence in multilateral mechanisms, something that requires commitment to transparency and a bigger independent technical role on the part of the IAEA.
Therefore, Kuwait, he maintained, underlines that the IAEA is using its mandate in the context of the nuclear non-proliferation system, which is mainly based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), calling for observing commitments to the treaty and relevant agreements as the cornerstone of the international nuclear safety system.
Al-Saeedi urged those countries which have not joined the NPT additional protocol to do so on the basis that it is a key tool of broadening the IAEA's access to information and whereabouts, thus bolstering confidence and mitigating doubts about undeclared activities.
Regarding Iran's nuclear issue, the Kuwaiti diplomat stressed the significance of restoring cooperation with the IAEA with transparency with a view to safeguarding regional security and stability.
He also called for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction on the basis of the 1995, 2000 and 2010 NPT Review on Middle East.
Furthermore, Al-Saeedi urged the international community to oblige Israel, the occupying power, to join the NPT and subject all its nuclear facilities to the IAEA's comprehensive safeguards system, accusing it of posing a continued threat to regional and international security.
He went on saying that his country looks forward to the forthcoming 11th NPT Review Conference due in April 2026 as a crucial event following the failure of the 2015 and 2022 conferences in adopting a consensual concluding document.
For the coming event to be fruitful, the previous failure causes should be addressed, he said, citing Middle East and regional security issues.
He underlined that balanced and applicable outcomes would certainly contribute to promoting the demilitarization and non-proliferation and cementing the IAEA's role amid the existing extreme international polarization.
The Kuwaiti diplomat concluded by saying that it is essential to address the current nuclear challenges by means of bolstering the multilateral framework and observing transparency and utter compliance with international obligations, urging all member states to support the IAEA's independence and technical capabilities. (end)
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