In brief
The IAEA opened its 15th International Safeguards Symposium in Vienna on 10 November, drawing about 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries. The session focused on innovation, resilience, and shared responsibility, citing rapid technological advances and geopolitical shifts. Key data from 2025 showed nearly 3,000 in‑field verifications, 1,000 samples, and 24,000 seals verified.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opened its 15th Symposium on International Safeguards in Vienna on 10 November, according to a Xinhua report.
The opening session highlighted how rapid technological advances, renewed interest in nuclear energy, and shifting geopolitical dynamics are testing the safeguards system, the agency said.
“Our operating environment is undergoing significant changes that are testing our resilience and challenging us to be more innovative,” said Massimo Aparo, IAEA deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards.
A visual presentation at the opening included statistics from 2025: the IAEA conducted nearly 3,000 in‑field verifications in 191 states, collected almost 1,000 samples, maintained about 1,400 surveillance cameras, acquired more than 2,800 commercial satellite images, and verified over 24,000 seals, the Xinhua article noted.
It was also reported that the symposium drew around 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries and 20 international organizations.
Other points of progress mentioned by the agency included a closer collaboration with industry and regulators to design nuclear technologies with safeguards built in, the completion of the first regular cycle of the comprehensive capacity‑building initiative COMPASS, and continued development of tools used by inspectors in the field.
The event concluded with a call for all stakeholders—policymakers, industry, civil society, and the safeguards workforce—to keep the safeguards system resilient amid an evolving world, the report said.
