Item 3: "Strengthening of the Agency's technical cooperation activities".
Mr. Chairman,
We have carefully read the Report of the Director General on the Technical Cooperation Activities 2022 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In this regard, we would like to convey the following comments:
The Cuban delegation recognizes the important contribution of the Agency's Technical Cooperation Program to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The actions contained in the national programs are aligned with the priorities of each State and contribute greatly to the fulfillment of the SDGs.
We take positive note of the technical cooperation activities carried out by the Agency in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2022, 31 Member States in the region received support through 215 national projects and 62 regional projects. The implementation rate of 88.1% in Latin America and the Caribbean reflects the importance given to these issues in the region.
Mr. Chairman,
In more than 40 years of cooperation between Cuba and the Agency, our country has benefited in sectors of great impact for its economic and social development.
As highlighted in the Report itself, Cuba participates in several national, interregional and regional projects. The effectiveness in the planning and management of cooperation has allowed the execution rates of the budget granted to technical cooperation with Cuba to increase progressively.
The signing of memoranda of understanding between the IAEA and Cuba for scientific cooperation with NUTEC Plastic in the area of plastic pollution control in the Caribbean and for coordination, collaboration and control in the Caribbean region of the Rays of Hope initiative are an example, among many others, of the excellent results achieved over the years in the implementation of the Technical Cooperation Program with the Agency, in spite of the great challenges that the economic, commercial and financial blockade policy imposed against Cuba for more than six decades implies for the IAEA's cooperation activities with our country.
Mr. President,
We reiterate our appreciation to the IAEA for its support in addressing the damage caused by the fire at the Matanzas supertanker base, which resulted in the purchase of environmental and air quality monitoring equipment to assist in efforts to measure the effects of the fire and make mitigation decisions after collecting such data. We are grateful for additional support to Cuba in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which included the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment for four hospitals and equipment to determine the presence of environmental contaminants and water quality.
We are also grateful for the support provided by the IAEA to my country's Regulatory Authorities, which ensure the implementation of technological and physical safety requirements for nuclear applications.
As a nation of solidarity, we place at the disposal of all States, in particular developing countries, our human resources and capabilities acquired in these years of successful cooperation, with the purpose of contributing to the advancement in the use of nuclear technologies for peace and sustainable development.
We reiterate our deep commitment to the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency and, in particular, to its technical cooperation activities.
(Embacuba Austria/Cubaminrex)