Eduardo González
Russia and Ukraine are on the long list of Member States invited by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to participate in an International Workshop on the Integration of Nuclear Security Applications in Large Urban Areas, to be held in the outskirts of Madrid next November.
The Official State Gazette (BOE) published yesterday the exchange of letters between Lydie Evrard, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security of the IAEA, and Esther Monterrubio, Ambassador at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Spain to the IAEA, which took place in Vienna on April 5th and June 13th. The publication in the BOE took place just one day before the meetings that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will hold today in Madrid with the Director General of the IAEA, the Argentine Rafael Grossi.
In the first note, Lydie Evrard reports on the IAEA’s intention to hold the workshop, whose objective is to “raise awareness and familiarize law enforcement and national security officials with the process of integrating nuclear security applications into existing security measures in large urban areas”.
She also indicates that approximately 50 people are expected to attend from the invited countries on the list contained in Annex A, as well as one or more representatives from the IAEA. Specifically, the list includes some 100 Member States (of the more than 170 that belong to the IAEA), including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the USA, China, the UK, South Korea (North Korea is not a member), Iran, India, Pakistan and the vast majority of EU countries.
Evrard also communicates that, “from informal conversations held with Mr. Marcos Sanchez Iglesias, lieutenant colonel of the Civil Guard, it appears that suitable premises and means could be made available in Valdemoro, Madrid”, and therefore addresses the Spanish government to ask if it “would like to host the event in question”,
In her reply, Ambassador Esther Monterrubio confirms to the Deputy Director General that the proposals contained in her letter “are acceptable to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain”. The International Administrative Agreement between Spain and the IAEA for the workshop – concluded through an exchange of letters – came into force on June 13, the date of the official Spanish reply.
