The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opened its 15th Symposium on International Safeguards in Vienna on 10 November, drawing about 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries and 20 international organisations. The event’s opening sessions highlighted innovation, resilience and the shared responsibility of safeguarding nuclear materials in a rapidly changing world.
Progress and Programmatic Highlights
Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo, head of the IAEA’s Department of Safeguards, noted advances such as closer collaboration with industry and regulators to embed safeguards into new nuclear technologies, the completion of the first regular cycle of the comprehensive capacity‑building initiative COMPASS, and the continued development of field‑inspection equipment.
He warned that the operating environment is undergoing significant changes that are testing the agency’s resilience and urging policymakers, industry, civil society and the safeguards workforce to sustain a robust system. “Our operating environment is undergoing significant changes that are testing our resilience and challenging us to be more innovative,” he said.
Statistical Snapshot of 2025 Operations
A video presented at the opening showed that in 2025 the IAEA conducted nearly 3,000 in‑field verifications in 191 states, collected nearly 1,000 samples, maintained nearly 1,400 surveillance cameras, acquired more than 2,800 commercial satellite images and verified more than 24,000 seals.
These figures underscore the expanding scope of safeguards activities and the agency’s reliance on emerging technologies to monitor compliance worldwide.
Global Participation and Themes
The symposium’s programme spanned emerging technologies, organisational resilience and international cooperation. Delegates explored how innovation can enhance safeguards and how shared responsibility can adapt to shifting geopolitical dynamics and unprecedented safety and security risks.
While the event celebrated tangible progress, the IAEA’s leaders acknowledged that rapid technological advances and changing geopolitical settings present ongoing challenges that require continued vigilance.
Uncertainties highlighted by the IAEA include how the next wave of nuclear technology innovations and shifting international relations will affect the safeguards framework and what additional steps will be needed to maintain resilience in the field.
