14 April 2026, 10:25

Belarus attending nuclear safety convention meeting in Vienna

Photo courtesy of Gosatomnadzor

MINSK, 14 April (BelTA) – Belarus is taking part in the Tenth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) that is taking place at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, until 24 April, BelTA learned from the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor).

Participation in the review meetings of contracting parties is part of the country’s international commitments in the field of nuclear and radiation safety. The Belarusian delegation to the event includes representatives of Gosatomnadzor, the Nuclear Energy Department of the Energy Ministry, the Bellenergo State Production Association, the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, the Joint Institute for Power and Nuclear Research Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation is headed by Gosatomnadzor Deputy Head Grigory Astashko.

During the review meeting, the Belarusian delegation will participate in plenary sessions and the work of country groups, where contracting parties will present and discuss national reports on how they are implementing the convention. The discussion of the Belarusian national report will take place on 15 April.

The Belarusian delegation’s participation in the Tenth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety was preceded by extensive preparatory work. In 2025, Belarus drafted its 10th national report on the implementation of the Convention on Nuclear Safety and made it publicly available on Gosatomnadzor’s website. The national report was translated into English and uploaded to the convention’s secure online platform. Last year, Belarus also reviewed the national reports of 29 countries and international organizations and submitted 213 questions to them. In turn, 163 questions from 20 countries and international organizations were submitted to Belarus’ national report, to which answers were prepared and posted on the secure platform.

The Convention on Nuclear Safety, which entered into force in 1996, requires contracting parties operating land-based civil nuclear power plants to uphold a high level of safety based on fundamental safety principles. Belarus ratified the convention in 1998. Under its provisions, member countries must prepare national reports on their implementation efforts every three years. They also review other countries’ reports remotely and submit questions, prepare responses to questions received on their own reports, attend contracting parties’ review meetings at IAEA headquarters, and ensure that recommendations from those meetings are implemented at home.