In brief
The International Atomic Energy Agency launched its 15th Symposium on International Safeguards in Vienna, stressing innovation, resilience, and shared responsibility amid rapid technology and geopolitical shifts. Around 1,000 delegates from over 100 countries joined the event, which highlighted collaboration with industry, capacity‑building progress, and field verification statistics. Key statistics reported by Xinhua include nearly 3,000 in‑field verifications, 1,000 samples collected and 24,000 seals verified during 2025.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opened its 15th Symposium on International Safeguards in Vienna on 10 November, urging all stakeholders to make the safeguards system more resilient in a rapidly changing environment, according to Xinhua.
Massimo Aparo, the IAEA’s deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards, said: “Our operating environment is undergoing significant changes that are testing our resilience and challenging us to be more innovative.”
Our operating environment is undergoing significant changes that are testing our resilience and challenging us to be more innovative.
The opening session drew around 1,000 participants, including representatives of more than 100 countries and 20 international organisations, Xinhua reported.
Aparo highlighted that the agency has accelerated collaboration with industry and regulators to design nuclear technologies that incorporate safeguards, and that the first regular cycle of the comprehensive capacity‑building initiative COMPASS has been completed.
Xinhua noted that in 2025 the IAEA conducted nearly 3,000 in‑field verifications in 191 states, collected nearly 1,000 samples, maintained roughly 1,400 surveillance cameras, acquired more than 2,800 commercial satellite images and verified over 24,000 seals.
The symposium, held every four years, sets the agenda for the international safeguards community as it addresses the technological advances and geopolitical shifts shaping nuclear security and safety today.
