Vienna Chapter
Madam Chairman,
On behalf of the G-77 and China, I wish to thank the acting
Director-General, Mr. David Waller for his opening statement, on behalf of
the Director-General and also DDG Qian, for introducing the proposed TC
programme for 2003-2004.
As this is the last TACC meeting to be attended by DDG Qian as head
of the Department of Technical Cooperation, I should like to convey to him
the Group's sincere appreciation for the service he has rendered over the
past 10 years. He has injected into the management of the TC programme a
great deal of conceptual innovation and operational improvements, the
overall result of which has been better TC projects with significant
impact.
We shall always remember him as a hands-on manager with boundless
energy; an accessible person with a frank and open manner.
We wish him all the best in his future endeavours, as he returns to
his homeland.
Madam Chairman,
The Group reiterates the great value it attaches to Technical
Cooperation Activities and in this respect sees merit in the main tools
included in the Technical Cooperation Strategy: the central criterion,
thematic planning and Country Program Frameworks.
2. In this connection, the Group notes that these main concepts are
included in the introduction to document GOV/2002/52, and believes that
they can contribute to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of
Technical Cooperation.
3. This notwithstanding, the Group is of the view that these tools
should not be implemented in a way that may create cumbersome and
unnecessary pre-conditions that may actually hamper Technical Cooperation
instead of enhancing it. The Group thus strongly believes that the
application of the central criterion should be undertaken with enough
flexibility so as to allow the Secretariat to take into account specific
situations in various Member States and continue to respond to the needs
and priorities defined by recipient Member States.
4. In the same vein, in relation to the ideas conveyed in paragraph
6, while believing that the goals of self-sufficiency and sustainability
of nuclear institutions are valid ones, the Group stresses that these
concepts should by no means constitute a pre-qualification for the
approval of Technical Cooperation projects submitted by Member States.
Moreover, the Group believes that not too much emphasis should be put on
the market aspects of nuclear activities, since in a great majority of
recipient Member States these activities are mainly conducted by the
Government and do not aim primarily at financial profits.
5. In addition, the Group believes that further efforts should be
made to identify more Regional Resources centres and to develop
outsourcing mechanisms in the context of enhancing Technical Cooperation
among Developing countries (TCDC), as requested by the 46th session of the
General Conference in resolution GC(46)/RES/8. The Group considers that
TCDC will continue to be an important element of the Agency's Technical
Cooperation Strategy.
6. In the context of the Group's strong support for regional and
inter-regional projects, the Group would like to encourage the expeditious
and successful conclusion of the negotiations on the initiative
'Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle
East' (SESAME), which aims at enhancing collaboration in radiation
science, technology and application.
Madam Chairman,
7. The Group deems it important to recall that both Technical
Cooperation and Verification are statutory activities of the Agency and
that an equitable balance should be maintained between these two basic
fields, so that the IAEA may continue to correspond to the aspirations of
developing Member States.
8. In the Group's view, however, the current trends do not seem
promising. On the one hand, the target for the Technical Cooperation Fund
was frozen at US$ 73 million from 1999 to 2002. The last General
Conference decided to set this target at US$ 74,75 million for 2003 and
2004, an amount that represents an adjustment of less than the inflation
average in each year. In this connection, the Group recalls that it
endorsed the rate of attainment mechanism established by resolution
GC(44)/RES/8 on the understanding that such mechanism would lead to a
substantial increase in the actual payment of contributions to the TCF. As
we are aware, the rate of attainment of 85% for 2002 might not be
achieved, a prospect that is not encouraging and that indicates the need
for an early review of this mechanism.
9. On the other hand, the Group recalls that it reluctantly agreed to
remove the shielding scheme according to resolution GC(44)/RES/9 on the
understanding that this would facilitate the timely payment of the full
share of the contributions of major donors to the Technical Cooperation
Fund. The results of these financing arrangements, however, do not seem to
correspond to the Group's expectations. Besides the de-shielding process,
which will begin in 2004, next year Member States will consider a proposal
to increase the safeguards budget by about US$ 30 million per year. The
Group thus once again stresses the need for adequate, predictable and
assured resources for the Technical Cooperation Fund.
10. In this connection, the Group would like to stress that the
implementation of additional activities in the field of nuclear security
should not take place at the expense of the established priorities of the
Technical Cooperation Program. Such priorities should continue to be
defined by recipient Member States, according to their national interests
and socio-economic development plans.
11. All these elements point out to the fact that the necessary
balance between promotional and verification activities of the IAEA may be
seriously impaired in the near future, which is a matter of great concern
for the Group of 77 and China.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Madame Chairman,
The Group attaches great importance to the evaluation of Technical
Cooperation activities, which can have a substantive contribution to
improve quality standards of Technical Cooperation implementation.
2. The Group notes with satisfaction the preliminary conclusions of
the self-evaluation initiated by Brazil in 2001 and believes that similar
self-evaluation exercises may help enhance national planning and
implementation capabilities in other Members of the Group.
3. In relation to paragraph 10 of the document, the Group is glad to
note that the majority of Member States are already implementing the
Technical Cooperation strategic reorientation towards the end-user and a
focus on results linked to socioeconomic development. This conclusion
reinforces the Group's view that the central criterion should be seen as
an auxiliary tool, and not as a pre-condition for the approval of
Technical Cooperation projects. If countries are moving in the right
direction with respect to the reorientation of the Technical Cooperation
strategy, the Agency should seek ways to encourage them to continue
enhancing their respective planning capabilities in the framework of
nationally defined priorities.
4. The Group is still analyzing the recommendations contained in
Annexes A and C and will convey its comments in due course.
5. Finally, the Group takes note of the Evaluation Work Plan for
2003, which includes important fields for evaluation.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
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