ISLAMABAD – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director GeneralRafael Mariano Grossi has said that Pakistan’s nuclear safety is“world-class”.
Addressing a seminar in Islamabad on Thursday, the IAEA DG said Pakistan’scapacity to establish “new nuclear power plants indicates a promisingfuture” for nuclear energy and achieving Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
According to the director-general, there is strong political support fornew nuclear power plants in Pakistan. Lauding Pakistan’s nuclear safety,Grossi termed safety measures at nuclear plants as “world-class”.
The IAEA chief is in Pakistan on a two-day trip to discuss matters relatedto the Pakistan-IAEA collaboration.
During his stay, IAEA chief Grossi called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifand Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, wherein cooperation betweenthe agency and Pakistan in several areas — health, agriculture, industry,nuclear medicine and power generation — was discussed.
During the huddles, the top officials expressed full support for variousprojects and programmes of the agency and “conveyed our desire to expandcooperation and support for the IAEA’s work”.
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Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan has amutually beneficial relationship with the IAEA that includes all areas ofnuclear technology.
He stated that despite of ranking as low as 158th among carbon-emittingcountries, Pakistan is amongst the countries most severely affected byclimate change.
He said Pakistan has achieved great milestones in nuclear science andtechnology for the socio-economic uplift of the country in areas such ascancer diagnosis and treatment, development of disease-free and high-yieldcrop varieties and food preservation.
The minister said nuclear power provides clean and cheap energy andcurrently contributes to eight percent of Pakistan’s energy mix with sixoperational nuclear power plants.In her weekly press briefing earlier inthe day, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch rejected that theIAEA chief was not in the country for a “deal” over Pakistan’s nuclearprogramme.
