The election took place on September 23 at the plenary session of the 65th IAEA General Conference in Vienne, Austria.

The 35-member board examines and makes recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA's financial statements, program and budget. It considers applications for membership, approves safeguards agreements and the publication of the IAEA's safety standards.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, permanent representative of Viet Nam to the IAEA, who was elected as the Vice President of the 65th IAEA General Conference, expressed thanks to the IAEA for supporting Viet Nam in nuclear technology application in diverse areas, particularly in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Equipment and biological products supplied by the IAEA have helped Viet Nam effectively conduct testing and diagonis of infection cases, thus facilitating COVID-19 treatment and containment.

Regarding technical cooperation, Viet Nam has launched six national-level cooperation projects and joined 10 regional-level cooperation projects during 2020-2021, added Nguyen.  

In the upcoming time, the country will join hand with the IAEA in preparing a cooperation framework program for 2022-2027 period as well as coordinate with Laos and Cambodia to realize a tripartite cooperation agreement on nuclear technology application, one of the IAEA’s priorities for technical cooperation program in the Southeast Asian region.