Statement by the delegation of the Republic of Armenia at the Board of Governors of the IAEA under Agenda item 2: Nuclear and radiation safety

Madame Chair,

We would like to thank the Director General for the Report on Nuclear and Radiation Safety prepared pursuant to resolution GC(68)/RES/8.

Emphasizing that responsibility for nuclear safety primarily rests with the State, Armenia acknowledges the central role of the Agency in supporting and assisting Member States in maintaining and improving nuclear safety for relevant facilities and activities.

As a Party to all Conventions related to the Nuclear and Radiation Safety, Armenia recalls the importance of their universalization, as well as the improvement of their review processes and requests the Agency to continue its efforts towards those goals. We thank the Secretariat for the successful conduct of the 8th Review Meeting of the Joint Convention, where Armenia presented its 4th National Report with several areas of good performance, and we look forward to the upcoming tenth review meeting of the Contracting Parties to the CNS.

We welcome also the adoption of the 2025 strategy for the long-term plan for the IAEA safety standards.

Chair,

Under its CNS obligations and taking into account the relevant principles of the Vienna Declaration, Armenia consistently performs nuclear safety upgrades at the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant and updates to its national regulations in accordance with the IAEA safety standards and international good practices.

Armenia attaches great importance to promoting leadership and management for safety, as well as ensuring the strong Regulatory Authority, which in Armenia is independent from the state authorities and energy market regulator.

Recognizing the exclusive expertise of the Agency in assessing nuclear safety, Armenia regularly hosts IAEA review and expert missions and implements their recommendations for continuous enhancement of nuclear safety. In the reporting period Armenia hosted Support Missions on Integrated Management System of Leadership and the Site and External Events Design Review Services.

Armenia welcomes the Secretariat's continued efforts to address safety aspects of ageing management and to support Member States in their programs for long-term safe operation and lifetime extension. Recently, Armenia hosted an IAEA expert mission on ageing management and looks forward to the upcoming Peer Review Mission on Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO), as well as Peer-to-Peer Visit for Continuous Improvement.

With these remarks, Armenia takes note of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Report.

Thank you, Madame Chair.