The 42nd Meeting of the National RCA Representatives held on 23 April 2020 via video conferencing

The 42nd Meeting of the National RCA Representatives was held on 23 April 2020 through video conferencing in response to the recent outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Delegates from 19 Government Parties and representatives from the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) and the RCA Regional Office attended the meeting. Ms Jane Gerardo-Abaya, DIR-TCAP, Mr Gashaw Gebeyehu Wolde, SH-TCAP1, Ms Marina Mishar, SH-TCAP2, Mr Sinh Van Hoang, RCA-FP, and other officers from the IAEA also participated in the meeting.

Mr Mohd Abd Wahab Yusof, Director General of Malaysian Nuclear Agency, and Ms Jane Gerardo-Abaya from the IAEA delivered their statements to open the meeting and welcome the participants. Chaired by Mr Abdul Muin Abdul Rahman, the Current RCA Chair, the meeting dealt with agendas on RCA strategic and management issues including preparation of the upcoming RCA programme 2022-2023 and preparation of the 50th RCA Anniversary in 2022. Some ideas and ways to maintain the implementation and efficiency of the RCA activities amid this global adversity were also discussed.

As the meeting was held online for the first time, sufficient guidelines and information were provided to the participants beforehand and a couple of dry tests were conducted to avoid possible errors that could occur during the actual meeting. Thanks to the outstanding chairmanship of Malaysia and committed participation of the participants, the unprecedented virtual meeting succeeded to cover all necessary agendas as well as critical RCA issues and proved to be another effective means to organize various kinds of activities such as meetings and workshops.