Statement: On The Demise of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano

31 July 2019 — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) joins the international community of nations in mourning the passing of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano.

Director General Amano’s distinguished career as a diplomat, leader and civil servant, as well as his inestimable contributions in disarmament and non-proliferation diplomacy, will always be remembered. His sudden demise is a great loss for diplomacy and for global peace and security.

His dedicated, balanced and effective stewardship of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the past 10 years, through his “Atoms for Peace and Development”, combined with the IAEA’s emphasis on cooperation, especially with developing countries, such as the Philippines, has earned him the Filipino nation’s utmost respect.

The IAEA, under the leadership of Director General Amano, supported the Philippines in harnessing the benefits of nuclear science and technology in such fields as food security, human health, energy and environmental resources management, as well as working on priority areas where the transfer of technology and technical cooperation resources will be directed to support our national development goals.

The DFA will remain grateful for the warm friendship and support that Director General Amano had extended to the Philippine Government, through his several visits to the Philippines in the past decade, and in recent years, the IAEA’s support for the Philippines during its Presidency of the IAEA 61st General Assembly in September 2017 and the country’s two-year membership in the IAEA Board of Governors from 2016 to 2017. END