On his recent trip to Washington, D.C., IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi (right) met with Energy Secretary Chris Wright. (Photo: IAEA/D. Candano)
International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the first time since Trump took office in January. In his three-day visit to the capital, Grossi spoke with key nuclear leaders from around the world and in the federal government, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair David Wright, on topics including nuclear power, safety, security, funding, and nonproliferation.
Federal meetings: In a LinkedIn post, Grossi said about his meetings with the DOE and NRC, “The U.S. is a world leader in nuclear innovation, from microreactors to SMRs. With Energy Secretary Chris Wright, I appreciated the strong support for IAEA’s mission across the board; with NRC Chairman David Wright, we built on our longstanding partnership, reaffirming our shared commitment to safety.”
Following up on these comments, a press release from the IAEA went on to say that Grossi sees the United States as “an indispensable partner in our important work to make the world safer and more prosperous.” Summarizing his position on the current state of U.S.-IAEA relations, Grossi said, “I’m very encouraged by my discussions in Washington, D.C., this week and the strong support for the IAEA’s mission, especially our nonproliferation work and our efforts to promote the safe operation of nuclear power globally.”
Development banks: While in Washington, Grossi also met with two potential critical financiers of future global nuclear development: the president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, and the president of the Asian Development Bank, Masato Kanda.
While the World Bank currently maintains a ban on lending for nuclear power projects, Banga has been vocal about his intention to end the policy as soon as June, opening a crucial funding stream for new development. The Asian Development Bank has a similar ban on funding nuclear projects and shows little indication of a near-term change in policy. Grossi urged both presidents to align their organizations with the “new global consensus” on nuclear established at COP28 in 2023, where the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change officially called for accelerating the deployment of nuclear power among other low-emission technologies to help achieve global decarbonization.
Grossi affirmed that the IAEA is prepared to provide technical support to any multilateral development bank investing in nuclear and summarized his position by saying, “To achieve sustainable development and prosperity, the world needs an abundance of clean, reliable and sustainable energy.”
Other visits: While in D.C. Grossi also spoke at events organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the global security organization Nuclear Threat Initiative.
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