Myanmar is expecting to join the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management in the near future in connection with its small nuclear power plant project, said Ambassador U Min Thein, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, Austria.

The Ambassador U Min Thein said during a meeting with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, along with other permanent representatives of the ASEAN-Vienna Committee, at the IAEA Headquarters in the Vienna International Centre on February 23.

During the meeting, the IAEA Director General discussed the Agency’s support for priority projects in ASEAN countries under the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Programme, its provision of technical assistance on nuclear safety and security in small nuclear power plant projects in ASEAN countries, the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to be held in New York provided an update on the IAEA’s leading role in the areas of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Permanent Representatives of the ASEAN-Vienna Committee then discussed the ongoing cooperation between ASEAN and the IAEA in the ASEAN Network of Regulatory Bodies on Atomic Energy (ASEANTOM) and other processes, the expectations for a positive outcome at the NPT Review Conference, and ASEAN’s support for the NPT’s nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda through the establishment of the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ).

During the meeting, the Permanent Representative of Myanmar expressed appreciation for the strong partnership between ASEAN and the IAEA through ASEANTOM and several regional projects, the IAEA’s continued provision of technical assistance to Myanmar and the provision of technical and human resource development assistance for Myanmar’s small nuclear power plant project in terms of nuclear safety and security.

He also expressed his gratitude for the technical team sent after the 2025 earthquake, the provision of small ultrasound machines and X-ray machines, and that Myanmar joined the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency in 2022 and will soon join the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management.