VIENNA 20-24 Sep 2010 UN nuclear agency holds General Conference 54th Session

Yukiya Amano, who succeeded Mohamad ElBaradei as director-general on Dec 1, will preside over the 2010 conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The veteran Japanese diplomat, who held senior arms control posts in Japan and was Tokyo's IAEA representative, listed goals when he took office that do not include pressuring Tehran to make a deal or mention sanctions against Iran. The omission suggests he might try to steer the debate away from Iran to other pressing issues.

Amano's list includes addressing global issues such as non-proliferation, enhancing nuclear security and addressing energy needs, but also focusing on the agency's role in fostering the use of nuclear energy for economic development and medicine.

Iran has resisted a deal with Western powers that would see its low-enriched uranium sent abroad for processing into uranium for making fuel.

The United States and its allies in the United Nations and European Union fear Iran's nuclear energy program could allow the Islamic Republic to develop nuclear weapons, thought Tehran says it has no such intention. In January Iran accused US President Barack Obama of a double standard for supporting the building of nuclear power plants in the United States while threatening Tehran for pursuing a similar goal.

The IAEA news site notes that Amano has used some of his first days at the helm for a trip to Nigeria, which was intended to heal differences between mainly Western industrialised countries and developing nations, a split that has hampered a united response to Iran's nuclear program, as well as discuss Nigerian plans to develop its first nuclear power plant. The reactor could provide much-needed electricity to sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy. Most Nigerians go without mains electricity for weeks, leaving neighborhoods without private generators in darkness every night and heightening frustration among its 140 million people.

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IAEA
http://www.iaea.org/

Officials say Iran counteroffer to IAEA rejects heart of international nuclear proposal (CP 19 Jan 2010)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hcePR-JD55QEOpOPoRGtEib5mApA

Iran says to protest over IAEA nuclear resolution (Reuters 1 Dec 2009)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSGEE5B007G

IAEA head highlights Nigeria's nuclear ambitions (Reuters 15 Dec 2009)
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE5BE02M20091215