The SDPU Attends the International Atomic Energy Agency’s NA/TC Ministerial Conference
On November 26-28, 2024, CRDF Global, under the Sustained Dialogue on Peaceful Uses initiative, attended the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Program hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, to promote the role of the peaceful applications of nuclear science in pursuing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.
The SDPU was represented by experts who have been closely engaged throughout the first two years of the program – cancer care expert and Chief Radiotherapist Dr. Kofi Kyei from Ghana, and food security experts Dr. Jaya Gurung from Nepal and Dr. Alfredo Montes Niño from Argentina. Throughout the conference, these experts elaborated on the impact of their efforts in applying peaceful uses of nuclear science in healthcare and food security in collaboration with the SDPU. During the plenary session entitled “From the Lab to the Field,” held on the third day of the conference, Dr. Gurung presented an ongoing SDPU feasibility study on the application of ionizing radiation technology for agriculture and other applications in Nepal, with research being led by the Nepal Development Research Institute, in which Dr. Gurung leads broad efforts on sustainable development, as well as Vertex Foods, from the private sector in Nepal, and Texas A&M University.
During another plenary session entitled “Isotopes for Better Management,” Dr. Hamid Marah, Director General of Morocco’s National Centre for Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (CNESTEN), announced the upcoming SDPU Workshop on Pan-African Water Resource Monitoring and Data Sharing with Nuclear Science and Technology being held in Rabat, Morocco, in January 2025, alongside co-host CNESTEN.
At its exhibition booth, SDPU leaders from CRDF Global met with diverse stakeholders from a wide variety of IAEA Member States to discuss ongoing engagements in healthcare, agriculture, and water security.
CRDF Global is thankful for the contributions from these partners as well as the organizers at the IAEA for the opportunity to engage new stakeholders and advance the world’s understanding of how nuclear science and technology can serve our shared interest of sustainable development.
The SDPU is jointly funded by the U.S. Department of State and the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DENSZ). For more information about the SDPU and how to stay connected, go to https://www.sustaineddialogue.com/.
