Peaceful Uses Initiative

During 2010, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) established the Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI) to raise extra-budgetary contributions in support of Agency activities that promote the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. The PUI supports implementation of Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires NPT States Parties that are in a position to do so to cooperate in contributing alone or together with other States or international organizations to the further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Since 2010, the PUI has provided the IAEA with additional flexibility and resources for high priority IAEA Member State projects, including responding to unforeseen challenges on short notice − such as the Ebola and Zika viruses and Fukushima nuclear accident. PUI-supported IAEA projects address areas that include human health, agricultural and livestock productivity, water resource management, food security, protection of the environment, nuclear safety and security, and nuclear power infrastructure development. The projects are administered by the IAEA Departments of Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Sciences and Applications, Technical Cooperation, and Nuclear Safety and Security. More than 150 Member States have now benefited from the PUI.

Since its inception, the U.S. has contributed more than $100 million to the PUI. Providing funding to the PUI allows donors to address real needs in countries around the world, while simultaneously complementing their international assistance priorities and advancing the goals of the NPT. PUI-supported IAEA technical assistance activities are helping globally to achieve sustainable development in concrete ways. States are encouraged to explore with the IAEA Secretariat various projects to which they could contribute through the PUI, and to look for opportunities to partner with other governments on PUI-supported projects. Member States benefiting from the PUI are encouraged to highlight for others the impact of the PUI in advancing their national goals.

For additional information about the PUI, please read our PUI Fact Sheet [PDF] [675 KB], view the IAEA’s PUI video here , and visit the IAEA’s website at: https://www.iaea.org/services/key-programmes/peaceful-uses-initiative .

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