18 Sep (NucNet): Demands for support from the International Atomic Energy Agency are increasing and sound management of limited resources is essential if the agency is to be able to meet the growing needs of member states, director-general Yukiya Amano said in his opening address to the general conference, which opened on 18 September 2017 in Vienna.
Mr Amano said the agency will continue to strike a balance between those real needs and the reality that many member states face continued financial constraints.
He said the IAEA is continuously implementing efficiency measures and modest real increases in its budget in recent years have been helpful in enabling the agency to address priority areas such as technical cooperation and nuclear safety and security.
“I count on member states to support modest real increases in the IAEA budget in the coming years,” Mr Amano said.
The IAEA’s regular budget was €361m ($431) for 2016. The largest proportion, €135m, was allocated for verification work.
The technical cooperation programme has a separate budget of around €90m.
Both budgets are supported by extra-budgetary contributions from member states and non-member states donors.
