Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Additional cooperation protocol signed by Serbia, IAEA

Belgrade, 3 July 2009

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed El Baradei signed today an additional protocol to the agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a press conference Djelic said that once the Serbian Parliament ratifies the protocol the IAEA will carry out detailed inspections across Serbia, similar to the ones that were made at Vinca nuclear institute. Serbia is willing for the inspections to be carried out at any point in time anywhere in the country so that it is verified that it has no nuclear proliferation plans, said Djelic, adding that developing nuclear weapons was neither the policy of the former Yugoslavia nor Serbia. He said that by signing the protocol Serbia has shown that it is part of the international effort for controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Djelic said that one of the important subjects discussed with El Baradei was the transfer of used nuclear fuel from the reactor at Vinca. He said that $23 million out of $25 million necessary for the transfer of used nuclear fuel from the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences have already been provided, adding that nuclear waste is expected to be imported to Russia by the end of 2010.

The Minister pointed out that as soon as we get rid of our nuclear waste, we will considerably reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Djelic and ElBaradei also discussed the possibility of using nuclear technologies for the development of science, agriculture and the protection of cultural heritage. ElBaradei voiced his satisfaction with cooperation between Serbia and the IAEA and congratulated Minister Djelic on his persistency and determination.

He noted that the Vinca Institute has been posing a security threat for a while now and therefore used nuclear fuel must be transferred to Russia as soon as possible.

ElBaradei pointed to the importance of the usage of nuclear energy in medical diagnostics and therapy, particularly when it comes to cardiology and oncology, announcing that the IAEA will soon send an expert team to Serbia to estimate Serbia’s needs concerning nuclear medicine.