On June 15-19, 2020, Vienna hosted the 1542th session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in virtual format.

In his introductory statement, the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that despite the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency continues to implement safeguards to prevent any misuse of nuclear material and technology.

The Director General informed about the new IAEA initiative - the ZODIAC project (“Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action”), aimed at identifying, monitoring and early detection of pathogens of zoonotic diseases.

The delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic spoke on three items on the agenda of the IAEA Board of Governors. In his statements, the Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the IAEA, Bakyt Dzhusupov, noted that the technical cooperation Program is an important cooperation mechanism for promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He expressed appreciation to Director General for the emergency assistance provided to Kyrgyzstan during the development of the pandemic.

In addition, the Permanent Representative Bakyt Dzhusupov informed the Board regarding the initiative of Kyrgyzstan on the draft resolution of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly “Nature knows no borders: Trans boundary cooperation is a key factor in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” and encouraged UN Member States to join resolution as co-sponsor and support the initiative.