The IAEA and the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) signed a Practical Arrangement on 26 November that provides a framework for enhanced cooperation between the two organizations. This Practical Arrangement is the first such to be signed between the IAEA and CAHFSA and covers a three-year period. The agreement provides a framework for cooperation in the areas of human health, sustainable agriculture and food safety. Cornela Feruta, Chief Coordinator at the Director General’s Office for Coordination in the IAEA and Simeon Collins, CEO of CAHFSA, signed the document.
Signature of the Arrangement follows the visit of a delegation of experts from CAHFSA to IAEA headquarters in August, during which they learned about the potential contributions of nuclear science in the areas of animal health, plant mutation breeding, crop productivity, soil and water management, and food safety, and visited the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf.
Following the signature of the Practical Arrangement, the CAHFSA delegation, Caribbean experts in various nuclear and nuclear-related fields and representatives of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States attended a further meeting with the IAEA, during which they focused on the development of a framework for a Regional Strategic Profile (RSP) for IAEA technical cooperation in the Caribbean.
“The Caribbean region faces unique challenges, and this meeting is a great opportunity to identify priorities in need of support,” said IAEA Deputy Director General Dazhu Yang at the inauguration of the meeting.
The RSP will set out regional priorities that can be addressed by deploying nuclear solutions. The document is intended to guide IAEA activities in the region and to provide a framework for regional collaboration among Member States as well as regional organizations. The participating experts have returned to their respective countries with the framework document to begin the process of collecting information, consulting with stakeholders, and drafting a Regional Strategic Profile for the Caribbean.
