Moroccan FM Holds Talks with IAEA Director General

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, held talks on Wednesday in Rabat with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, currently on a working visit to Morocco, the first of its kind in Africa since his election in 2019 at the head of this international organization responsible for promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and the fight against nuclear proliferation. In a statement to the press after the interview, Grossi said he discussed and evaluated with Bourita the avenues of cooperation uniting Morocco and the IAEA and will develop further in the areas of health, nuclear medicine, oncology, food security, water management and drought-resistant crops. “There are many elements that have been analyzed and evaluated,” said the DG of the IAEA, stressing that Bourita reiterated “a clear support that the Kingdom of Morocco provides for the task of the IAEA which plays a vital role in preserving peace and international security in the field of non-proliferation and nuclear arms control.” During this working visit, which he described as “successful”, Grossi also met with the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. He also visited the National Center for Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (CNESTEN) and the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security (AMSSNuR) as national research and regulatory bodies for nuclear and radiological safety and security. The working visit to Morocco of the Director General of the IAEA is part of the strengthening of the Kingdom’s relations with this Agency, in particular, the consecration of the regional role of the Kingdom in the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in vital areas, such as the fight against cancer, the prevention of zoonoses, as well as in other strategic areas that contribute to socio-economic development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. It also reflects the priority place that Africa occupies in Morocco’s action within this Agency, through a triangular cooperation with African countries that the Kingdom wants to be active, supportive and pragmatic in accordance with the Very High Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him.