President Trump’s Message to the 2020 IAEA General Conference
I send my greetings to all the participants in the 64th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference, whether you are participating in Vienna or from your home countries.
As we have all adapted to new ways of working during a global pandemic, the IAEA kept its vital missions moving forward, sending coronavirus diagnostic test kits to its Member States, helping them ensure continued safe and secure operation of nuclear facilities, and sending inspectors to safeguard peaceful nuclear activities around the world. I commend and congratulate Director General Rafael Grossi for his leadership.
In celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) earlier this year, I reaffirmed the United States’ support for the Treaty. By promoting the responsible use of nuclear energy and ensuring its use remains peaceful, the IAEA will be critical to the continued success of the NPT and to promoting global peace and prosperity. The United States looks forward to hosting the IAEA’s Nuclear Power Ministerial Conference next year and demonstrating United States leadership as a nuclear supplier that champions the highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation.
To preserve the full benefits of the IAEA and the NPT, the nations of the world must uphold and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime, both in their own actions and in responding to challenges from others. All countries should adopt the Additional Protocol to help make it a universal nonproliferation standard. We must ensure that Iran adheres to the commitments it made under the NPT and its safeguards agreements with the IAEA to prevent it from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon, and continue to work toward the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
On behalf of the United States, I wish all of you a productive IAEA General Conference and look forward to continuing to work together to address these critical issues.
