Distinguished Director General Mr. Yukiya Amano, Deputy Director General Mr. Dennis Flory, Vice President Mr. Borchardt, Vice President Mr. Majerus, Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
We gather here today to attend the fifth Review Meeting of the contracting parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety. I would like to welcome you all. Meanwhile, journalists are invited for the first time to the opening and closing plenary session of the Review Meeting. I would also like to welcome friends for the media.
First, on behalf of all the contracting parties to the Convention, I, as the President, would like to extend my deep condolence to those affected Japanese people in the recent earthquake and the tsunami that followed.
People around the world were shocked by this unprecedented disaster in Japan and expressed their grief. They are paying close attention to the aftermath of the nuclear accident caused by the earthquake and the tsunami. I feel great sympathy towards the affected Japanese people and my heart go out to them. We know that the Japanese people are resilient. We believe that they can overcome this hard time and move forward to rebuild their country. My appreciation also goes to those emergency personnel who are still working right now at the forefront of the accident. On behalf of the contracting parties, I would like to pay tribute to them and wish them all the best.
I believe you share the same feeling with me in joining the Japanese people to wade through this challenging hardship. I am relieved to notice that the international community, including IAEA and many contracting parties, responded quickly in short time. They are united in providing all sorts of technical assistance needed in dealing with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident. This demonstrates our fine tradition of solidarity,as Director General Mr. Amano put it during his visit to Japan, "you are not alone".
The Fukushima nuclear accident renewed our memory of the Chernobyl accident 25 years ago. This is another severe accident in the history of nuclear power development, which also triggers heated discussion of whether we should develop nuclear power. Most countries with NPPs have carried out comprehensive inspection of their nuclear safety, while others begin to review their nuclear power policy. Needless to say, the Fukushima accident will have a great impact on global nuclear power development, and will become a major event in nuclear history. It stands testimony to the maxim that "nuclear safety is the lifeline and key to nuclear power" and "nuclear safety knows no boundaries".
In maintaining energy security and dealing with climate change, nuclear power is the most practical energy that can be deployed in large scale. The regulators, as I have said before, must remain clear-minded all the time. We should have in-depth understanding and strictly follow the rule of nuclear power development, and we must stick to the founding principle of "safety first, quality first". We must strengthen nuclear safety regulation and ensure safe operation of NPPs. We have to be prepared in response to any nuclear accident any time. We should learn something from the Fukushima accident and review our work to see whether there is a need to make adjustment, so as to ensure nuclear safety and let the public rest assured.
25 years ago, the Chernobyl accident helps to usher in a new era of international cooperation on nuclear safety. The recent Fukushima accident further highlights the importance of nuclear safety over nuclear power development and global collaboration. I believe that in the foreseeable future, nuclear safety will become a global focal point. International cooperation will definitely be deepened in this regard. Given the great significance of nuclear safety and the implication of nuclear accident, the international community should work together to enhance cooperation and research in nuclear safety, information exchange and communication, experience sharing and feedback, emergency response and preparedness and assistance. We should give full play to IAEA by joining hands to improve nuclear safety in the world. I am happy to learn that IAEA has already proposed to convene a ministerial conference on nuclear safety this June.
This Review Meeting is the first global-level nuclear safety meeting after the Fukushima accident. We will have a special side event devoted to the Fukushima accident for discussing and analyzing the status of the accident, and conducting an initial review and assessment. This is a great opportunity for us to summarize, learn lessons and share experience. I believe that the review meeting and the peer review will play a critical role in this process. I would like to suggest that in preparing for the future national reports, contracting parties should identify the lessons learnt from the accident and take follow-up measures to avoid recurrence of such accident.
This is the 5th Review Meeting since the Convention on Nuclear Safety came into effect on October 24th, 1996. The contracting parties have increased from 50 then to 72 as of today. All countries with operating NPPs have become contracting parties, which shows the influence of the Convention and the importance attached to it by the countries. It has been proven that the Convention implementation serve as a critical guidance and boost for the contracting parties in enhancing their nuclear safety. Under the current situation, I hope to work with you to make full use of the Review Meeting as a platform to further enhance international exchange and cooperation on nuclear safety, share experience and lessons learnt, and promote global nuclear safety to a higher level.
Finally, I would like to thank the IAEA Secretariat for the huge amount of preparatory work for the Meeting, I would like to say thank you to the Vice Presidents, the officers of the Meeting and every one of you for your effort. Let's work together to make our due contribution to a successful Review Meeting.
Thank you.