On 31 May 2017, on the sideline of the International Conference on Technical Cooperation Programme hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Mr. Songsak Saicheua, Ambassador of Thailand to Austria and Resident Representative of Thailand to the IAEA, and Mr. Yukiya Amano, IAEA Director General, signed the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the IAEA concerning the Hosting of IAEA Activities in the Kingdom of Thailand.  Also present as witnesses were high – level officials from the Office of Atoms for Peace and the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology.

              The Agreement will serve as a Framework Agreement between the two partners for cooperative activities and projects in Thailand. Over the past years, Thailand has been hosting various IAEA activities, including conferences, trainings, and seminars, at regional and international levels.  The relevant Thai agencies responsible for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, primarily the Office of Atoms for Peace, have benefitted tremendously from these activities through, inter alia, capacity building, exchange of experiences, and networking with regional and international counterparts in the nuclear related fields, which are vital for Thailand’s national development and improvement of livelihood of the Thai people. Furthermore, through these cooperative activities, Thailand has raised profile as a regional hub in the area of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and by hosting the IAEA activities, Thailand also has venue to showcase her success stories and potentials in nuclear technology at international level.

          Thailand became a member state of the IAEA on 15 October 1957, the year of its establishment. Since then, Thailand and the IAEA have been working closely, with the IAEA providing support through experts and technical cooperation programmes in the areas of medicine, public health, agriculture, food and nutrition, energy, industry, environment and radioactive waste management, and nuclear security.