Thailand’s Ambassador Vilawan Mangklatanakul elected as the President of the 67th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency

H.E. Mrs. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations Offices in Vienna, has been elected by acclamation as the President of the 67th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 25 September 2023.

The IAEA is a United Nations-related international organization mandated to promote the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology as well as to establish and administer nuclear safeguards, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The General Conference is the largest governing body of the IAEA, consisting of representatives of the IAEA Member States. The regular annual session of the General Conference, which usually takes place in September, considers and approves the IAEA's budget and decides on other issues raised by the Board of Governors, the Director General and Member States.

Thailand joined the IAEA in 1957 as one of the original Member States of the IAEA and has long been a strong advocate of the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, including in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, industry and food security. Thailand has played an active role within the IAEA framework, including under the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA), and other regional frameworks such as the ASEAN Network of Regulatory Bodies on Atomic Energy (ASEANTOM) and the Asia Pacific Safeguards Network (ASPN).

Thailand’s Presidency of the IAEA General Conference serves to strengthen its constructive role in promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology and in enhancing global nuclear safety, security and safeguards, and cooperation between the IAEA Member States in these areas.