Strengthening Cooperation between the IPPC Secretariat and the Joint FAO/IAEA Division AGE)

With the kind invitation by Mr Aldo Malavasi, the Deputy Director General (DDG) of the International Atomic and Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr Jingyuan Xia, the IPPC Secretary, paid a visit to the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture (AGE) in Vienna, Austria, 14-15 December 2015. The main objective of this visit was to further strengthen cooperation between the IPPC Secretariat and the AGE. During the visit, Dr Xia observed and studied the Joint FAO/IAEA Division s Laboratories at Seibersdorf, including the Insect Pest Control, the Food and Environmental Protection, and the Plant Breeding and Genetics. He made presentations on the IPPC towards 2020 and the International Year of Plant Health in 2020 (IYPH 2020) with presence of the staffs from AGE s Sections of the Insect Pest Control, and the Food and Environmental Protection. He had several meetings with Mr Aldo Malavasi (DDG of IAEA), Mr Qu Liang (the Director of the Joint Division), Mr Jorge Hendrichs (the Section Head of the Insect Pest Control) and Mr Zhihua Ye (the Section Head of the Food and Environmental Protection), as well as the staff from both Sections. The further cooperation between the IPPC Secretariat and the AGE had been discussed and planned to promote plant health and trade by using modern nuclear technologies. A Practical Arrangement for the bilateral cooperation (2016-2020) was developed, which covers four areas: a) standard settings, b) standard implementation and capacity building, joint technical activities, and communication and advocacy. Meanwhile, the AGE is highly interested in and fully supportive to the development of IYPH 2020.