Doha, 15 August 2022 (TDI): Qatar Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi and IAEA Director-General Rafael M Grossi held a telephone call on Sunday 15 August 2022.
The phone call aimed to examine the bilateral cooperation between Qatar and the IAEA. During the phone call, the two leaders reaffirmed the IAEA’s significant role. This includes enhancing efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs @Dr_Al_Khulaifi Holds Phone Call with IAEA Director-General#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/f4fqoeX9ju
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) August 14, 2022
Qatar and the IAEA
The state of Qatar has been an active member of the IAEA since 1976. The two have been able to operate in various areas and have also signed many agreements. The latest agreement between Qatar and the IAEA is the second Country Programme Framework (CPF) 2022-2027. This framework includes six main areas of interest.
These include; Human health and nutrition, Food and agriculture, Environmental protection, Water resources management, Human resources development and lastly, Nuclear and radiation safety and security.
Signatories to this framework included Abdulhadi Nasser Almari, the Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Ministry of Enivronment and Climate Change and the IAEA Deputy Director-General Hua Liu.
Qatar’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the IAEA have also planned a number of projects including Nulcear research. These projects encompass important areas such as food security.
Furthermore, these projects will be conducted together with the Ministry of Public Health. The projects will also aim to enhance Qatar’s capabilities in radiological diagnosis of diseases with Hamad Corporation and also Sidra Medicine.
This project also aims to facilitate the establishment of a secondary calibration laboratory for radioactive devices. This will be the largest laboratory in the MiddleEast and it will therefore improve radiation protection programs in Qatar.
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Currently, Qatar and the IAEA have 35 technical projects, were 23 are regional , 10 are national and 2 are global projects. These projects cover many areas including agriculture, medicine and human health, the environmental sector to address pollution and Climate Change. Other activities are to enhance control over radiological activities and proper use of Nuclear energy.
