The Brazilian Foreign Ministry published on its website that Rafael Grossi “meets all the qualifications needed to head the IAEA secretariat” as a “diplomat with extensive multilateral experience, particularly on issues related to the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.”
Brazilian support was announced after the Argentine government presented Grossi’s candidacy as a Latin American “aspiration” to lead for the first time the IAEA.
Grossi is the first candidate officially presented to replace the Japanese Yukiya Amano, who has been in charge of the IAEA since 2009 and until his death on July 18 at the age of 72.
The 35 IAEA executive body countries plan to choose the new director throughout October. The new head of the agency is expected to take office on January 1, 2020.
“In addition to recognizing Ambassador Grossi’s solid credentials, Brazilian support for the Argentine candidacy is part of the bilateral strategic partnership in the nuclear area, the most eloquent expression of which is the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC), created 25 years ago, “said the note from Itamaraty.
