Group of 77 and China statement during the IAEA Board of Governors,
26-27 November 2015, delivered by H.E. Ambassador Armin Andereya, Permanent Representative of Chile
Agenda Item 3: Technical Cooperation: Report of the Technical Assistance
and Cooperation Committee
Mr. Chairman,
1. The Group wishes to thank the Rapporteur, Ms ZHANG Shaoping, for her work to present a balanced and agreed report with the support of interested delegations, and reiterates its appreciation to the Deputy Director General for introducing the Agency’s Proposed Technical Cooperation Program for 2016 - 2017, as contained in document GOV/2015/60, which has been recommended by the TACC for adoption.
2. The Group reaffirms the importance of the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Programme and, as reflected in the report of the Committee before us, would like to emphasize the importance of coordination and dialogue between all departments of the IAEA and Member States in order to contribute to the effective planning and successful implementation of the Technical Cooperation Programme, which is based on the needs and evolving priorities of those Member States in which TC projects are implemented. The Group also highlights the role of Permanent Missions in Vienna and the necessity of engaging them and keeping them duly informed in the preparation of their relevant national and regional projects under the TC Programme.
3. In this framework, the Group looks forward to receiving further reports on the efforts to realize the important potential of the Agency to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and to benefit from the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.
4. The Group further reiterates the importance of maintaining an adequate balance between the Agency’s promotional and non-promotional activities, as well the crucial importance of ensuring that resources available for the TC Programme are Sufficient, Assured and Predictable to meet the increasing membership and associated demand for technical cooperation, inter alia, by implementing the recommendations of the Working Group on Financing the Agency’s Activities and the Working Group on Resource Mobilization.
5. Bearing in mind the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) endorsed by UNSC resolution 2231(2015) in July, the Group would like to reiterate its support to the removal of all restrictions and limitations imposed on the technical cooperation between Iran and the Agency in 2016-2017, as of the implementation day of the JCPOA, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015). We understand this was the widely shared view during the Committee, as reflected in the Report.
Mr. Chairman,
6. Regarding the evaluation of the Agency’s technical cooperation activities in 2015, as contained in GOV/2015/62, the Group wishes to reiterate its appreciation to OIOS for the information shared with members and reiterate it attaches great importance to this regular evaluation by OIOS, and encourages OIOS to carry out its audit and evaluation functions in an effective, judicious and sustainable manner, bearing in mind the need of a reasonable cost/benefit ratio and utilizing opportunities for synergies presented by other existing audit, evaluation and assessment mechanisms in the Agency and in the Member States, in particular with regard the introduction of new methods of evaluation.
7. The Group encourages the Secretariat to consider the implementation, as appropriate and in a timely manner, of the recommendations regarding the Evaluation on the Use of Partnerships Within the Technical Cooperation Programme (Annex IV), as well as the Evaluation on the Effectiveness of Best Value Procurement and its Impact on the Implementation of Technical Cooperation Projects (Annex V),
8. The Group expects more progress in terms of interdepartmental working, information sharing and coordination in the Secretariat and requests that additional measures be taken to ensure efficiency and to maximize valuable resources.
9. With these comments, Mr. Chairman, the Group of 77 and China takes note of the documents considered at the TACC meeting and endorses its recommendations as reflected in the report.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Agenda item 5: Any other business
Mr. Chairman,
1. The Group of 77 and China expresses its appreciation to the Secretariat for the technical presentations and the additional clarifications provided by the Deputy Director General for Technical Cooperation in his meeting with the Group earlier this month.
2. The Group is of the view that, in striving to achieve the goal of increasing the rate of attainment, the principles of fairness, neutrality and universality should be preserved. The Group believes that the exceptional circumstances beyond the control of states should be taken into account in all cases, including for national projects. The Group also believes that any proposed guidelines should be applied in a manner that does not adversely affect the TC Programme.
3. The Group supports the Chairman’s proposal on the way forward on the issue of the Due Account Mechanism and looks forward for the revised document for further consideration and discussion.
