IAEA Director General’s visit to HAEA

On 22 February 2023, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi paid a visit to Budapest and was received by President Andrea Beatrix Kádár at the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority. During the meeting, the two leaders among other topics exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and discussed the Paks II project.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, which was discussed at the bilateral meeting, the Director General pointed out that the IAEA would like to reach an agreement on establishing a demilitarized zone around the Ukrainian nuclear power plants as soon as possible, and to this end they are in continuous negotiations with both the Ukrainian and the Russian side. Andrea Beatrix Kádár expressed her appreciation to Rafael Mariano Grossi for his efforts to improve the nuclear safety situation in Ukraine, in particular for the permanent presence of IAEA inspectors in the country monitoring the nuclear power plants on the site.

Besides the above-mentioned, the progress of the Paks II project was also discussed, as well as the future regulatory tasks related to the lifetime extension of the Paks NPP.

The IAEA has assured the HAEA that it remains committed to supporting our country on regulatory issues related to the nuclear field, sharing the international good practices that the HAEA can benefit from.

The meeting was particularly significant given the fact that the last time an IAEA Director General visited Hungary was in 2011.