CAIRO, June 2 (MENA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty on Monday commended the vital role played by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in supporting regional security and stability through the promotion of nuclear non-proliferation principles and the expansion of peaceful uses of nuclear technology to advance sustainable development goals.

Meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Abdelatty expressed his appreciation for the significant achievements made by the IAEA chief since taking office at the end of 2019.

He highlighted Grossi’s active personal engagement in climate change-related conferences, most notably the 2022 Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Summit (COP27), which significantly contributed to international recognition of the positive role nuclear energy can play in combating climate change and adapting to its impacts.

The minister also underscored Egypt’s commitment to harnessing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in support of national development, including through the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant project. He described the project as a key milestone in this effort, emphasizing Egypt’s eagerness to strengthen its close cooperation with the IAEA and to leverage the Agency’s technical expertise to ensure compliance with the highest international standards for nuclear safety and security. He added that this project is poised to unlock broader development prospects for Egypt.

Abdelatty highlighted Egypt’s contributions to nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy at both regional and international levels.

He stressed that Egypt has long been at the forefront of advocating for disarmament and non-proliferation, with the ultimate aim of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.

The top diplomat pointed out that the current imbalance in treaty commitments by states in the Middle East regarding non-proliferation has exacerbated regional instability.

He noted that Israel remains the only state in the region that has not joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and continues to refuse to place all of its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.

The minister emphasized the necessity of Israel joining the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state and expressed his hope that the IAEA Director General will intensify efforts to implement the annual resolution adopted by the IAEA General Conference on applying safeguards in the Middle East. (MENA)

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