Ambassador: IAEA LEU Bank will be safe and secure in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan will ensure the safety and security of the international low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel bank. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Belarus Yergali Bulegenov made the statement during a briefing on the safe development of nuclear energy and the nuclear non-proliferation regime held in BelTA's press center on 27 August.

“We have almost five years’ experience of working with nuclear materials and ensuring their safety and security. We know how to store and transport them. Kazakhstan meets all relevant international standards, and the IAEA helps our country develop these areas. This is why, no doubt, it was the right decision to choose this location for the bank (IAEA LEU Bank – BelTA’s note),” Yergali Bulegenov noted. He also stressed that the political situation in Kazakhstan is stable. The social and economic situation has been consistently improving since Kazakhstan became an independent state.

In his words, Kazakhstani law enforcement agencies take sufficient measures to prevent terrorist attacks.

He also noted that Kazakhstan satisfies all the requirements of the IAEA. “In general, the level of anti-terrorist protection in our country is high, same as, I am sure, in Belarus,” Yergali Bulegenov said.

The agreement to build the IAEA LEU Bank on the territory of Kazakhstan was singed between the Kazakhstani government and the IAEA on 27 August during the visit of IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano to Astana.