IAEA Chief Predicts Promising Future For Nuclear Energy In Pakistan

Nuclear power is a sustainable, clean, and green source of energy in the overall energy mix and is the best solution to the challenge of climate change.

IAEA Chief Predicts Promising Future For Nuclear Energy In Pakistan

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has predicted a promising future for nuclear energy in Pakistan. The UN’s nuclear chief visited Pakistan for two days to tour nuclear-related facilities on February 15–16.

IAEA Director General Grossi noted the political will in Pakistan as well as the nation’s technical capability and nuclear safety record as the reasons for his optimism about the prospects for the expansion of nuclear energy on Thursday at a seminar hosted by the Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS) in Islamabad.

According to Grossi, new nuclear power plants in Pakistan have strong political support. He added that Pakistan’s nuclear safety record is “world-class and impeccable.”

Additionally, he added, the nation possesses the technical and engineering capacity for new nuclear power plants, including small modular reactors (SMRs), pointing to a bright future for nuclear energy and the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In his keynote address, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives said that Pakistan and the IAEA have a positive working relationship in all spheres of nuclear technology. In spite of Pakistan’s low ranking of 158th among carbon-emitting nations, he claimed that it is one of the nations most severely impacted by climate change.

For the socioeconomic improvement of the nation, he continued, “Pakistan has achieved great milestones in nuclear science and technology in areas such as cancer diagnosis and treatment, the development of disease-free and high-yield crop varieties, and food preservation.”

Nuclear power provides clean and cheap energy and currently contributes to 8% of Pakistan’s energy mix. Pakistan has an impeccable nuclear safety and security record and plans to develop more power plants. Nuclear power is a sustainable, clean, and green source of energy in the overall energy mix and is the best solution to the challenge of climate change.

In his welcome address, Executive Director CISS Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi, who has been Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the IAEA for five years, stated that through their long-standing partnership, Pakistan and the IAEA will continue to jointly contribute to a safer and cleaner world.

Because it directly affects access to water, food, and security for people, he claimed that climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity. He continued by saying that Pakistan is aware of the growing problems caused by climate change and has chosen to mitigate them by using nuclear energy to generate sustainable and clean electricity.

In addition, he added, “Pakistan has the best combination to achieve sustainable clean energy goals as it has a robust peaceful nuclear program and a long association with the IAEA.”

During his two-day visit, the DG IAEA will hold high-level meetings and pay visits to various organisations that use nuclear technology in the fields of health, agriculture, industry, and power generation, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.

The visit gave Pakistan and the IAEA the chance to investigate ways to further strengthen their current cooperation in the area of peaceful nuclear technology applications for the nation’s socioeconomic development, the statement said.