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March 12, 2010
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| The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called yesterday for wider global cooperation to control the flow of nuclear fuel. Mohamed ElBaradei, delivering the keynote at the Summit of Honor on Atoms for Peace and Environment (Shape) in Seoul, noted that only a handful of countries such as the United States regulate the nuclear fuel supply in an effort to enforce nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ElBaradei, former secretary general of the IAEA and co-president of Shape, said there is a need for a joint arrangement by many countries to control the supply of nuclear fuel. Shape, organized by the Forum on Climate Change and Energy, a Korean nongovernmental organization, got under way on Wednesday. The first gathering of its kind, the summit has drawn 150 experts on the peaceful use of atomic energy from 19 countries around the world. Officials and atomic energy experts from the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Russia and China have also been invited to attend the meetings. Representatives from other Korean NGOs have been asked to attend as well. Organizers said that in addition to the informal working group talks held Wednesday, Shape will hold a plenary session touching on a nuclear weapons-free world, nonproliferation review, multilateral security cooperation and education. Former Korean President Kim Young-sam, who chairs the summit meeting with ElBaradei, said the world nuclear power industry is heading toward a “renaissance” to better cope with the depletion of fossil fuel resources and global climate change. Yonhap |
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