The president of the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), Mr. Josep Maria Serena i Sender, has held a meeting with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, at its headquarters in Vienna.

This exchange, the first that both leaders have held in person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, has served to transmit to the IAEA all the support of the Spanish regulator and its commitment, on the one hand, to maintain the annual extrabudgetary contributions - such as, for example, the financing of the Ibero-American Forum of Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Organisms (FORO) - and, on the other, the appointment of high-level experts from the Spanish regulator for their contribution towards international activities of the IAEA.

Regarding new activities, and within the Ibero-American scope, Serena explained the impulse he wants to give to multilingualism and, specifically, to the use of Spanish by preparing a glossary of nuclear terminology with the Language Academies of the Ibero-American countries, in close collaboration with the IAEA.

The CSN´s president also committed to continue working with the IAEA, following the suggestion from its Director General, in terms of supporting countries with less regulatory development in Latin America, notably by launching from the FORO -association that the CSN will chair in 2021/2022- measures to strengthen regulatory structures in a sustainable way. He also took the opportunity to invite Grossi to participate in the events of the 25th Anniversary of the FORO that the CSN will organize in 2022.

Finally, Serena assured that the CSN will try to continue in the same line of support to the IAEA through the assignment of young experts to temporarily fill technical positions in the Vienna organization, provided that the necessary administrative conditions are met so that the time of permanence is optimal for both parties.

On his part, Grossi thanked Serena for his visit and all the support received from the CSN, especially for the very high level of knowledge of the Spanish agency's experts who are working at the IAEA. In this sense, he committed to maintain a high level of recruitment of Spanish experts, as others are leaving the organisation. Finally, Grossi also promised to travel to Spain again, both for the CSN's 40th anniversary celebrations, as well as those of the FORO's 25th, offering as well to hosting a celebration of the Spanish authority in Vienna to give greater visibility to the Spanish regulatory model.

Other meetings

During this trip to Vienna, the CSN´s chairman also held a first meeting with the new Permanent Representative Ambassador of Spain to the United Nations Office and International Organizations based in Vienna, Ms Esther Monterrubio. The new ambassador assured Serena of her commitment to give the CSN all the necessary support in its interaction with the IAEA.

Likewise, Serena also held a meeting with the IAEA's Deputy Director General for Nuclear Safety and Security, Mr Juan Carlos Lentijo, to review the collaboration activities with the CSN. At this meeting, the Spanish authority reiterated its commitment to continue supporting initiatives towards strengthening regulatory infrastructures and the IAEA thanked the CSN for its contributions and the appointment of experts to working groups to promote international regulations, verification missions and cooperation initiatives such as the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network.

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