Vienna, 6 March 2026 – At the initiative of Kazakhstan, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continued its consideration of the restoration of sovereign equality of member states during its regular session.

In his statement, Kazakhstan’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, emphasized that the issue of sovereign equality in the IAEA remains a key principle for fair and inclusive participation of all member states in the Agency’s governance. Given the importance of this issue, Kazakhstan has consistently initiated the inclusion of this item on the agenda of the Board of Governors and the IAEA General Conference since 2022.

Kazakhstan Ambassador noted that, thanks to the resolution on the restoration of sovereign equality in the IAEA submitted by Kazakhstan and adopted on 29 September 2023, the number of countries not included in the Agency’s regional groups decreased from 17 to 12. In particular, since 2023, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, and Nepal have joined the regional groups of the Middle East and South Asia, the Far East, and the South-East Asia and Pacific region. He also stressed that efforts to include the remaining 12 countries in regional groups should continue.

IAEA member states expressed their gratitude to Kazakhstan for initiating the discussion on sovereign equality once again at the Board of Governors and congratulated the country on joining the Far East Group. Additionally, participants urged other regional groups to show maximum flexibility in accepting new members under the IAEA General Conference resolution.

During the discussions, states also expressed support for expanding the composition of the Board of Governors through the swift entry into force of the amendment to Article 6 of the IAEA Statute, which would ensure more balanced geographic representation of member states in the Agency’s governing body.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-vienna/press/news/details/1176888?lang=kk