Week in Review: 69th General Conference

The 69th annual IAEA General Conference is coming to a close, with final discussions around possible resolutions likely to last into the evening.

Resolutions and decisions adopted at the conference will guide the IAEA's activities in the coming year. They will be posted here as they become available.

This year, more than 3000 participants registered for the conference, including 2755 representatives from 153 of the180 IAEA Member States. High-ranking officials in attendance included 57 ministers and 37 vice-ministers. In addition, 348 representatives from international organizations and non-governmental organizations took part. The number of participants from non-governmental organizations has more than doubled since 2021, showing how the IAEA has been growing its engagement around the world.

In his opening statement to the General Conference on Monday, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi outlined how the Agency has been responding through its unique mandate to what he described as "extremely challenging times".

"[The IAEA's mandate] spans all the way from reducing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation - and ultimately therefore also the risk of nuclear war - to using nuclear science and technology to help feed families, light cities and care for children with cancer," he said.

The General Conference elected 11 countries to serve on the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors for the 2025-2026 period. The newly elected Board members are the following: Belgium, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Niger, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Togo.

The General Conference and Board of Governors are the two IAEA policy making bodies. The Board examines and provides recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA's financial statements, programme and budget.