The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the IAEA will strengthen cooperation in the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, particularly in agriculture and medicine, for the benefit of the country and its neighbors. That was the result of CEO Rafael Mariano Grossi's two-day trip to Pakistan this week, during which he met with the country's leadership — including its prime ministers and foreign ministers — and visited a number of nuclear facilities around the country, some of which he inaugurated.
Mr. Grossi began his visit with a meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. Both spoke about the worsening effects of climate change on Pakistan and how nuclear science and IAEA support is helping the country.
For decades, Pakistan has been ranked among the 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change, and last summer it was inundated by climate change-related floods that caused mass displacement of people and $40 billion in economic damage. The IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in coordination and consultation with Pakistani authorities, have created an emergency support package to help the country apply nuclear science to better understand the impact of flooding on soil, crops and the potential spread of animal and zoonotic disease.
The prime minister expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation with the IAEA in agriculture and medicine and his support for the agency's efforts to promote peace and development around the world. The two also discussed nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, where Mr. Grossi is pushing efforts to create a buffer zone around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a facility plagued by nuclear safety and security problems caused by the country's war.
In a meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Mr Grossi said opportunities for peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology in Pakistan are many, highlighting how nuclear applications and IAEA initiatives address climate change and access to cancer care. Mr. Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistan and the IAEA will further enhance cooperation and strengthen the role of nuclear applications in addressing climate change, water, energy and food security.
In Islamabad, Grossi met with Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal to discuss the role of nuclear applications in addressing Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change. The Director General also met Pakistani fellows from the IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme, an initiative to help build gender-balanced capacities in the nuclear sector.
Nuclear power for energy, food and health
CEO Rafael Mariano Grossi inaugurates the new spent fuel dry storage facility at Chashma Nuclear Power Plant. (Photo: D. Candano/IAEA)
Pakistan currently operates six nuclear reactors at two sites that generate about 10 percent of the country's total and nearly a quarter of its low-carbon electricity. During his trip, Mr. Grossi visited one of these sites, the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant, 250 kilometers south of Islamabad. Opening the site's new dry spent fuel storage facility, Mr Grossi stressed the importance of safe and secure spent fuel management.
Mr. Grossi was welcomed to the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), which is the IAEA's partner in human health, nutrition and water analysis. At PINSTECH, Mr. Grossi inaugurated the dosimetry laboratory. Mr Grossi also visited the Pakistan Center of Excellence in Nuclear Security (PCENS) and said he was impressed by the high standard of the facility and looked forward to further cooperation.
At the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Oncology and Radiotherapy in Islamabad, Mr. Grossi inaugurated the Cyberknife, a new cancer treatment facility that he described as a milestone for the country. He said Pakistan would be able to support its neighbors in terms of access to cancer treatment by becoming a regional hub under Rays of Hope – an IAEA initiative that seeks to increase access to cancer care in low- and middle-income countries by that will help introduce and improve irradiation. medical capacity and build a cancer care workforce.
In Faisalabad, Mr. Grossi visited the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) and identified it as an IAEA Collaborating Center in Agriculture and Biotechnology. In a special ceremony, Mr. Grossi planted a sago palm at the site and spoke about the IAEA's collaboration with the facility to develop climate-resistant cotton varieties. NIAB is also a national laboratory under the IAEA ZODIAC initiative to combat zoonoses and future pandemics.
Mr. Grossi visited another IAEA collaborating center, the National Institute of Safety and Security, while visiting Pakistan's Nuclear Regulatory Authority and meeting with its Chairman, Faizan Mansoor. He also had the honor of inaugurating the National Radiation Emergency Coordination Center (NRECC) in Islamabad.
While visiting the headquarters of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Mr. Grossi had a meaningful discussion with the Commission on the comprehensive and cohesive nature of the country's peaceful nuclear programme. Mr. Grossi's visit to Pakistan was at the invitation of PAEC Chairman Raja Ali Raza Anwar, whom he thanked for Pakistan's hospitality during the two days. The Director-General concluded his visit to Islamabad with a seminar on climate change mitigation, during which he highlighted the IAEA's role in supporting climate-vulnerable countries to address the climate crisis through nuclear science and technology.
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