Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Suren Papikyan today met with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi on the sidelines of the 64th session of the General Conference of the IAEA.
Congratulating Grossi on assuming the office of Director General of the IAEA and wishing him prolific activities, Minister Papikyan attached importance to further development of the cooperation between Armenia and the IAEA, as well as the ensuring of continuity of the programs being carried out by the IAEA in Armenia.
Touching upon the directions and prospects for the development of atomic energy in Armenia, Minister Papikyan emphasized that the Government of Armenia has enshrined the ensuring of energetic security in Armenia as a strategic priority in the Security Strategy of the country. “The International Atomic Energy Agency is of special significance for Armenia, which is a country that operates a nuclear power plant,” Papikyan stated.
The minister expressed satisfaction with the measures targeted at the peaceful use of nuclear energy within the scope of cooperation with the IAEA, expressed concern about Azerbaijan’s threat to bomb the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant and stated that Armenia views this as a credible threat.
During the meeting, the interlocutors also touched upon the IAEA’s ZODIAC Program, the aim of which is to control and prevent the spread of viruses of animal origin among people through the creation and rearmament of veterinary laboratories and the application of nuclear technologies around the world. At the end, Minister Papikyan invited the IAEA Director General to Armenia.