H.E. DG Rafael Mariano GROSSI of the IAEA,

H.E. DG QU Dongyu of the FAO,

H.E. DDG ZOU Ciyong from UNIDO,

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to our side event. This event is also part of the activities of the "Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI)" in Vienna. In the three years since President Xi Jinping proposed the GDI, more than 100 countries and over 20 international organizations actively supported and participated in it, more than 80 countries joined the “Group of Friends of the GDI”. During the UNIDO GC last year, the “Group of Friends” officially launched in Vienna. Over the past year, China actively cooperated with the IAEA and the UNIDO, and made a series of progress in carrying out trilateral cooperation with Africa and beyond. Through the “Group of Friends of the GDI” and the G77 platforms, we have actively advocated for international development cooperation benefiting the Global South.

Last week, during the G20 and the APEC summits, President Xi Jinping elaborated his views and proposals for a world of common development. He also outlined China’s eight actions for global development, including promoting international cooperation on food security, and jointly proposing the "Initiative on International Cooperation in Open Science" with Brazil, South Africa, and the African Union, and advancing more benefits of global technological innovations for the Global South.

"Atoms for Global South" is an important direction for China in actively implementing GDI in Vienna. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's membership in the IAEA. Over the past four decades, China's cooperation with the IAEA has become a model for developing countries transitioning from beneficiaries to contributors in the IAEA. "Atoms for Global South" is an important manifestation of China's active response to and support for DG Grossi's series of initiatives on nuclear application benefiting the Global South, including the "Atoms4Food" initiative jointly launched by the IAEA and the FAO.

Like DG Grossi and DG Qu, we are not only passionately advocating good ideas but also actively making things happen. China has participated extensively in the nuclear technology exchanges and cooperation between the IAEA and developing countries, designated 8 IAEA collaboration centers, and collaborated with Thailand, Indonesia and other countries to build nuclear research facilities or joint laboratories locally. We utilize platforms such as the IAEA and the ITER to engage in technical exchanges in areas like fast reactors, nuclear fusion, decommissioning, and radioactive waste management. This year, I invited 11 PRs from developing countries visiting nuclear facilities in China such as the Linglong-1 SMR. Such visits will continue to be happening each and every year. During the IAEA GC this year, China announced the opening of 12 nuclear research facilities and experimental platforms to the world, which is an important global public good from China to support the missions of the IAEA and DG Grossi's initiatives. China also actively participated the SMR Conference, during which we signed the world's first Practical Arrangements on SMR capacity building with the IAEA.

Today’s side event is focusing on nuclear applications in health and agriculture. As President Xi Jinping put it in Rio last week, “If China can make it, other developing countries can make it too”. We are confident that together with international organizations like the IAEA and the FAO, we can bring even more successful stories from the Global South, as well as wonderful stories about "Atoms for Global South".

Thank you!