NPSGlobal, 7 Jul 2011.

The Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials, a binational organization aimed at verifying the peaceful use of nuclear materials from both countries, will celebrate on Friday 8th of July the twentieth anniversary of its creation. Given this occasion different events will be organized throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, including an event in Buenos Aires where the Director General of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, will be attending.

The creation of the ABACC was the result of a historical process of confidence building and formation of a strategic alliance between Brazil and Argentina in the nuclear sector. This process demanded years of negotiation stages, typically marked by joint declarations which would promote openness and mutual understanding of both countries' nuclear activities. The relevance of these activities for the national interests of Brazil and Argentina implied that the presidents both countries were directly involved in the negotiations related to the creation of this agency. 

An important step in the creation of ABACC was the signing of the "Agreement on Cooperation for the Development and Application of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Power" on May 17, 1980. This agreement marks the beginning of the shift of focus in the bilateral relations, in order to create conditions for mutual understanding of the two nuclear programs. Another milestone was the signing of the "Joint Declaration of Nuclear Policy" in Foz de Iguazú in November 1990, which adopted the Common System of Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials, SCCC. It was this statement that prompted Brazil and Argentina to negotiate with the IAEA a safeguards agreement based on the SCCC. As a result, the "Agreement between Brazil and Argentina for Exclusively Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” was signed on July 8, 1991, in Guadalajara, Mexico, which gave birth to ABACC.

ABACC is the only bi-national organization of safeguards that exist in world, and the first binational organization between Argentina and Brazil. Its clear purpose is to guarantee Argentina, Brazil and the international community that all nuclear materials are used for purely peaceful purposes. This model is respected in many countries, which is reflected in the amount of foreign authorities who seek to learn its structure and functioning to create similar agencies in their respective countries or regions.

International recognition of the achievements and effectiveness of ABACC functions are also reflected in the celebrations that are held worldwide throughout 2011 to commemorate the 20 years of its existence. In May 2011 a commemorative event was held as part of the programming of the Meeting of the European Safeguards Research and Development Association (ESARDA) in Budapest, Hungary. In July there will also be a commemorative event as part of the schedule of the Annual Meeting Institute of Nuclear Material Management (INMM). On the other hand, in September ABACC will participate with a stand at the General Conference of IAEA.

However, the main event will be held on Friday 8th of July in Buenos Aires, with the presence of the Director General of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, as well as ABACC authorities and representatives of the governments of Argentina and Brazil, including the two foreign ministers.

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