IAEA Director General Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors

iaea.org · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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(As prepared for delivery) Before I begin, I would like to welcome the Republic of Maldives as the newest member of the IAEA, bringing us to 181 Member States. Mr Chairperson, You have heard my statement on the very grave situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the wider Middle East region during this morning’s special session of the Board of Governors. I will shortly return to the topic and also update you on the situation regarding Iran’s nuclear programme before the commencement of these most recent military strikes. Let me first turn to the situation in Ukraine, where the war has just entered its fifth year. As I said in this room just a few weeks ago, it continues to pose a grave threat to nuclear safety. The situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains extremely challenging, particularly regarding off-site power, cooling water and the plant’s proximity to the frontline. The plant is depending on its sole remaining main power line after losing its only back‑up line more than two weeks ago. I reached out to both sides and a ceasefire has been agreed. Preparatory work, including de-mining activities, was completed over the weekend at the 330 kV switchyard of the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP), where repairs are now happening. The IAEA team deployed at the ZNPP is observing repair work. This is the fifth ceasefire for such repairs that we have facilitated between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Off-site power lines to ZNPP were disconnected on multiple occasions over the past three months, including two total losses of off-site power, bringing the total to twelve since the start of the war. These repeated outages underline the importance of maintaining secure off-site power under the Five Principles. While Agency staff experts monitored winter conditions closely, attention is now turning to the availability of cooling water in the coming months. With the ongoing conflict, a longer-term cooling water solution may eventually be required, even with all reactors in cold shutdown. Agency teams at the Khmelnytsky, Rivne and South Ukraine nuclear power plants reported continued safety challenges linked to military activity and damage to electrical infrastructure. All sites experienced off-site power disruptions. In January and February one unit at the Khmelnytsky plant twice shut down automatically, while the Chornobyl site temporarily lost off-site power and relied on emergency diesel generators. Agency missions conducted between December 2025 and February 2026 concluded that Ukraine’s high-voltage transmission system has further deteriorated, increasing risks to operating reactors. In November, the Agency conducted a comprehensive safety assessment of the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl site following the drone strike the previous year. The mission observed structural damage that prevents ventilation systems from operating as designed, leaving the confinement unable to fully perform its intended function. Urgent stabilization measures have been identified, but further work is required to restore ventilation functionality, ensure leak-tightness and address corrosion risks. International cooperation, including through the work of the IAEA and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), will be essential to restore the New Safe Confinement so that dismantling of unstable structures around Unit 4 can proceed safely. Since the Agency established its continuous presence at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities more than three years ago, over 170 staff members have deployed to Ukraine, totalling more than 550 person-months of work assessing nuclear safety and security conditions. In addition, the Agency continues delivering equipment and technical support under its comprehensive assistance programme for Ukraine. We have received 29 official equipment requests and arranged more than 200 deliveries, including of communications systems, power supply equipment, radiation monitoring devices, vehicles, protective equipment and medical supplies. Under the ISAMKO programme, Ukraine received water analysers, laboratory equipment and monitoring systems to address consequences of flooding following the Kakhovka dam destruction. Since the start of the conflict, equipment worth more than €22 million has been delivered to support safe and secure operations. Capacity-building support has included remote training in nuclear safety, mental health and isotope hydrology. Assistance on the safety and security of radioactive sources continues under the ISAMRAD programme, with priority given to strengthening physical protection and safe handling. I thank the 30 donor states and the European Union for their contributions. However, current unfunded priority needs amount to €15 million, and contributions declined in 2025 compared with previous years, placing the sustainability of the programme at risk beyond 2026. Your support remains essential to continue the IAEA’s indispensable work. Mr Chairperson, The Agency continues to provide independent verification of the safety of ALPS-treated water discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. A marine environmental monitoring sampling mission was conducted in February 2026 under the IAEA additional measures. IAEA officials and experts from third‑party laboratories visited Japan to collect samples, which were then sent to all participating laboratories for radionuclide activity analysis. International participation has included Belgium, China, France, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and Switzerland. TEPCO plans to start this week the discharge into the sea of the 18th batch of diluted ALPS-treated water. The Agency confirms that tritium concentrations of batches that have already been released were far below operational limits and consistent with international safety standards. A Task Force review is scheduled for May, and the Agency is also in the process of strengthening the Fukushima Laboratory’s analytical capabilities. We continue to assist with the managed recycling and disposal of soil from decontamination activities following the accident 15 years ago. We are marking several additional important milestones, including 40 years since the Chornobyl disaster and 30 years since the Convention on Nuclear Safety entered into force. Immense progress has been made in developing a global safety-first culture. The international community continues to invest in extending that progress, with the IAEA playing its central role. With regards to liability, in January an amendment to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage was adopted by consensus, removing the requirement for States without nuclear reactors to contribute public funds. The Agency’s Nuclear Safety Review 2026 and Nuclear Security Review 2026 have been submitted for comment. They provide analytical overviews of global trends and Agency activities, highlighting priorities for 2026 and beyond. This spring here in Vienna, the Agency will convene two major conferences: the International Conference on the Safe and Secure Transport of Nuclear and Radioactive Material in March, and the International Conference on Effective Nuclear and Radiation Regulatory Systems in April. The Commission on Safety Standards will meet in March to advance long-term planning for safety standards, including provisions for new technologies. In April, the Tenth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety will take place. Mr Chairperson, Today, 413 nuclear power reactors are in operation in 31 countries, comprising more than 377 gigawatts of installed capacity and providing almost 10 per cent of the world’s total electricity generation. Sixty-seven reactors totalling over 70 gigawatts of installed capacity are under construction in 16 countries, three of which are newcomers. Interest in nuclear power continues to expand, across countries and technology companies looking to power data centres for Artificial Intelligence. In December, that interest was reflected in the dynamic discussion among a wide set of stakeholders at the IAEA’s first International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Energy. Following on from the successful inaugural Nuclear Energy Summit held in Brussels two years ago, the Government of the French Republic will be hosting the second Summit in Paris on 10 March. Across the world, some 60 countries are now considering introducing nuclear energy. In a major step for nuclear in Asia and the Pacific, Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank and I signed a new Memorandum of Understanding in November towards helping countries in the region access the financing and expertise they need to meet rising energy demand with nuclear power. This agreement builds on the momentum generated by our recent partnerships with the World Bank Group, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and the OPEC Fund, and forms part of a broader effort to strengthen cooperation with international financial institutions. Many newcomer countries work with the IAEA as they lay the groundwork for a programme underpinning strong safety, security and safeguards. For example, in early December, we completed an Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Phase 2 mission to Viet Nam, while El Salvador will host its first INIR Phase 1 mission in mid-May 2026. With many countries actively developing fast reactor technologies, including innovative reactor designs and advanced small modular reactors, and others keen to adopt the technology, knowledge sharing is key. To that end, the International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles will take place in Beijing in May. On this topic, the Regulatory Track of the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI) is advancing regulatory cooperation tools and multinational review approaches. The multinational pre-licensing pilot, EAGLES 30