On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, today at the General Conference, H.E. Zarko Obradovic, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Serbia and Head of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the OSCE and other international organizations in Vienna, gave the Statement.

At the beginning of his speech, on behalf of the Republic of Serbia, he expressed full appreciation of the assistance and support our country had received from the IAEA by then, especially during the challenges faced during the pandemic of COVID-19 virus and its consequences.

“By providing similar assistance to additional more than 100 countries worldwide, the IAEA once more confirmed its continuous commitment to achieving its goals aiming at the benefit of the entire human kind. The Republic of Serbia is convinced that solely by such joint and allied approach, the global problems resulting from COVID-19 pandemic can be efficiently and permanently overcome, and in view of that, the Republic of Serbia is ready, commensurate with its capacities, to provide its full contribution.”

In his address, the ambassador remined of the full commitment of the Republic of Serbia to the work of the Secretariat, fundamental principles and goals of the IAEA in terms of safe and secure use of nuclear energy, and confirmed our unambiguous, traditional orientation towards the peaceful use of nuclear energy, for the benefit of each member of the society and the society as a whole.

He stressed the determination of the Republic of Serbia in strengthening its national legal and regulatory framework in the field of radiation and nuclear safety and security, in line with the international standards and the EU acquis, as well as in supporting the IAEA’s efforts towards further development of the international standards and relevant international legal documents.

“The Republic of Serbia remains fully and unambiguously dedicated to the IAEA’s fundamental principles and goals towards safe and secure peaceful use of nuclear energy, as well as the international peace, security and development in general”, said Zarko Obradovic.

He also emphasized that the Republic of Serbia would continue to act as a constructive partner in all IAEA’s programmes and continuing efforts in reinforcing the nuclear safeguards, in line with the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the principles of the universal reinforcement of non-proliferation regime.

He continued by stressing that the Republic of Serbia deemed any strives against nuclear terrorism as its priority and would steadfastly maintain its collaboration with the international community in reinforcing the effective methods and techniques serving to deter illegal trade in nuclear material and other radiation sources especially through the regime of their proper physical protection and retrieval of orphan sources under regulatory control.

“The Republic of Serbia will continue to attend to its obligations arising from the relevant international conventions, and particularly to apply the Code of Conduct regarding the safety and security of radiation sources, as legally non-binding instrument, as well as the Guidelines regarding the import and export of radioactive sources, primarily owing to the importance of these IAEA documents for the enhancement of the safety and security of radiation sources in general”, said the ambassador.

He pointed out that the prime concerns of my country, now more than ever, are the protection of health of the public, the environmental protection and assurance that the nuclear energy is used solely for peaceful purposes and the achievement of global peace, prosperity and well-being of the future generations.

You can see the full Statement on the following link