The capital of Belarus, Minsk, Victory Square. The head of the IAEA met with the President of Belarus in Minsk Peace and Security
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi arrived in Belarus on Tuesday for high-level meetings, as well as a visit to the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.
IAEA chief and team of agency experts to assess situation at NPP after almost four years after its connection to the grid, as well as progress in implementing the IAEA operational safety recommendations issued following the agency’s previous visit in 2021.
“Today at the Belarusian NPP in Ostrovets, I witnessed the commitment of the plant’s personnel to safe and reliable operation,” Grossi said on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich and other high-ranking officials during his visit to the NPP.
According to the IAEA report in 2021, the nuclear power plant, located about 150 km northwest of Minsk, consists of two 1,100-megawatt reactors. One of them was put into operation in late 2020. When an IAEA expert team visited the plant a year after its start-up, they noted significant progress in the plant’s operations (the team also visited the site before the start-up) and encouraged staff to continue their efforts to complete the remaining safety improvements and prepare Unit 2 for operation.
The IAEA Director General’s visit to Belarus comes at a time when the Agency is paying particular attention to nuclear safety in the region.
“It was important to meet with President Lukashenko in Minsk and exchange views on the IAEA’s indispensable work in preventing nuclear accidents. “I welcome the President’s commitment to safety and his willingness to cooperate with the IAEA, especially since the country is new to operating nuclear power plants,” Grossi wrote on his X page following his meeting with Alexander Lukashenko.
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