ISLAMABAD: Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi on Wednesday arrived in Pakistan on two-day visit to attend bilateral meetings and visit different institutions using nuclear technology in the fields of health, agriculture, industry and power generation, the foreign office said in a statement.
The IAEA, an intergovernmental body, promotes safe and peaceful nuclear technology internationally. As a collaborative effort with its members and partners, it focuses on advancing the development of nuclear energy while ensuring its security and safety.
According to the foreign office, Pakistan is one of the founding members of the agency since 1957 and enjoys longstanding and mutually beneficial collaboration with it.
“The visit will provide an opportunity to Pakistan and the IAEA to explore avenues for further strengthening their ongoing cooperation in the area of peaceful applications of nuclear technology for the socioeconomic development of the country,” the official statement released by the foreign office said.
Speaking to Arab News, a Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) spokesperson, Shahid Riaz Khan, called the visit significant while pointing out it would highlight the country’s contribution when it came to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
“During this visit, bilateral issues will be discussed with the IAEA which will focus on the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes,” he said while pointing out that Pakistan was the biggest recipient of the agency’s technical projects.
“The DG IAEA will inaugurate CyberKnife technology at the Nuclear Medicine Oncology and Radiotherapy Institute (NORI) today and tomorrow,” Khan added. “He will also inaugurate Zodac Lab in Faisalabad which is doing research on zoonotic diseases which are spread by animals.”
The IAEA delegation is also scheduled to visit the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) and National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetics Engineering (NIBGE) in Faisalabad.
“Pakistan is actively contributing in nuclear science and its application in the area of human benefit like agriculture, medicine, energy production and other fields,” the PAEC official said, adding the IAEA gave a lot of importance to Pakistan.
He maintained it was Grossi’s first visit, though the international agency’s previous heads had also been to Pakistan during their respective tenures.
Dr. Samar Mubarakmand, a nuclear scientist, said the visit showed the IAEA appreciated Pakistan’s nuclear safety since the country’s track record in this area was “spotless.”
“The IAEA is confident that Pakistan’s nuclear control system is well designed,” he said while speaking to Arab News.
