Bangladesh committed to peaceful use of nuclear energy

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy, especially in energy, food security, medicine and health sectors.

The foreign minister, who is on an official visit to Austria, said this in a meeting with Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi at IAEA office in Vienna on Monday evening (April 29) local time, says a foreign ministry press release on Tuesday (April 30) noon.

Bangladesh became a member of the IAEA in 1972 immediately after independence, which was one of Bangladesh's first memberships in any international organisation.

The foreign minister thanked the IAEA for providing necessary support and cooperation to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, and said Bangladesh will maintain the highest level of transparency and safety in its nuclear power plants.

Referring to the national energy vision, he said Bangladesh is considering nuclear energy as the main green and clean source of its future energy.

Citing Bangladesh’s remarkable success in food production, pharmaceuticals and health services, Hasan Mahmud thanked the IAEA for its technical assistance to Bangladesh in the fields of nuclear agriculture, nuclear medicine and radio therapy.

The Foreign Minister commended the IAEA director general for ‘Atoms for Food’ and ‘Atoms for Net Zero’ initiatives to reduce carbon emissions to zero and assured Bangladesh's continued support to such noble initiatives.

The IAEA director general confirmed the agency's sustainable support to Bangladesh on human-centered development issues utilizing the application of atomic science and expressed special interest in working together with Bangladesh on the 'Atoms for Food' initiative.

He congratulated Bangladesh for setting up a nuclear power plant, saying that this initiative has added a unique dimension to Bangladesh's engagement with the organization and assured of continued support of the IAEA for training and capacity building on nuclear safety and security issues.

The Foreign Minister invited the IAEA Director General to visit Bangladesh during the commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the country in Vienna Asad Alam Siam, and Director General of Western Europe Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kazi Russel Parvez were also present in the meeting.