IAEA visit to UK

Posted: 9th February 2023

 As the IAEA supports global efforts to tackle climate change and stop the spread of nuclear weapons, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island (UK) is an indispensable partner to the Agency. That was a message from IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi this week during his three-day visit to the country in which he met with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Minister of State for Climate, Graham Stuart; spoke at Chatham House on a number of international challenges facing the IAEA; and toured the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station under construction in Somerset, England. Meeting with Foreign Secretary Cleverly in London on Monday, Mr Grossi thanked the UK for its support to the IAEA’s mission. The two exchanged views on a number of issues including nuclear verification in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the urgency of avoiding a nuclear accident at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine. Mr Grossi and Mr Cleverly also spoke about nonproliferation commitments in the context of AUKUS, a partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Through AUKUS, Australia seeks to acquire conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, which requires special arrangements for nuclear safeguards. In a meeting between Mr Grossi and Climate Minister Stuart on Tuesday, the two discussed the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI). The initiative aims to facilitate the safe and secure deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), a technology of growing interest for its potential to produce low-carbon energy.