Argentinian Ambassador to Russia Ricardo Lagorio in his comments to Sputnik has lauded the election of Rafael Grossi, Argentina's permanent representative to the international organizations in Vienna, as the future chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and noted that Buenos Aires' consistent stance on nuclear non-proliferation also contributed to the victory
VOLGOGRAD (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2019) Argentinian Ambassador to Russia Ricardo Lagorio in his comments to Sputnik has lauded the election of Rafael Grossi, Argentina's permanent representative to the international organizations in Vienna, as the future chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and noted that Buenos Aires' consistent stance on nuclear non-proliferation also contributed to the victory.
"Well I think it's the result of the excellent candidate, Rafael Grossi, and of Argentina's tradition and it's a commitment to non-proliferation. Argentina has a high level of technological development. But we have never thought of producing a nuclear bomb. For us, nuclear energy can only be used for peaceful uses. That's our tradition, that's our position, that's our stance," Lagorio said on the sidelines of the International Public Diplomacy Forum, dubbed The Dialogue on the Volga.
Grossi, who was slated to preside over the review of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) next year, will step down from this commitment due to his election as the IAEA chief.
"Next year, we are going to have a review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and we are going to have an Argentinian presiding over it. It was supposed to be Rafael Grossi, now we will have another Argentinian," Lagorio said.
The ambassador went on to note that it was the Latin American region that gave an impetus to the emergence of the NPT through the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, which entered into force earlier than the NPT.
The Dialogue on the Volga is currently being held in Russia's city of Volgograd and is co-organized by Rossotrudnichestvo.
