IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda item 4: Nuclear security: Nuclear Security Review 2025
3 March 2025
Statement by H.E Ambassador Ian Biggs, Governor and Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Thank you, Chair.
Australia thanks the Director General for presenting the Nuclear Security Review 2025.
Throughout 2024, the global community continued to see the need to prioritise nuclear and radioactive security. Australia reaffirms the central role of the IAEA in promoting, sustaining, and strengthening the global nuclear security architecture, and in furthering international cooperation.
Chair,
Australia once again congratulates the IAEA on its successful convening of the 2024 International Conference on Nuclear Security, as referenced in the Review. Australia was honoured to serve as Co-President alongside Kazakhstan, and was pleased to see the far-reaching benefits of ICONS. I would like to draw attention to two statistics: almost 75 per cent of participants reported that they had applied, or intended to apply, insights gained at the Conference; and over 78 per cent of participants had maintained contacts that they made at the Conference.
Chair,
Australia remains committed to supporting efforts to universalise nuclear security treaties and strengthen international norms. The success of this work is evidenced by the increase in the number of parties to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its Amendment, and the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and its supplementary Guidance.
Chair,
We note the significant achievements of the IAEA and its Members States in capacity building activities in nuclear security. Australia is proud to contribute to this work through our hosting of 20 countries from the Indo-Pacific in April 2024 to support the development and implementation of their Integrated Nuclear Security Sustainability Plans. Australia is also proud to have contributed 1.25 million AUD to the Regulatory Infrastructure Development Project in the Asia Pacific Region. This year, Australia also launched its first postgraduate degree focussed on nuclear security and safeguards, designed to build the next generation of experts in these fields.
Chair,
Australia continues to participate closely in the Agency’s work on nuclear forensics science, and in November 2024, we were pleased to extend for a further three years a practical arrangement between the IAEA and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in this important area.
Chair,
Australia also notes with pleasure that the share of women participants in overall IAEA nuclear security training activities increased in 2024, as outlined in the Review. Australia strongly supports measures that seek to promote and enhance gender equality in the IAEA’s Nuclear Security activities, and we encourage further efforts in this regard.
Looking ahead, Australia looks forward to consultations on the Nuclear Security Plan for 2026-2029 to comprehensively guide the Agency’s work on nuclear security.
Finally Chair,
We welcome the Agency’s critical work, including in difficult circumstances, such as its efforts on nuclear security in the context of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
With these comments, Australia takes note of the draft Nuclear Security Review 2025.