Federal Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier sent the following letter of congratulation today (3 July) to Yukiya Amano:

“Allow me to warmly congratulate you on your election and appointment as the future IAEA Director-General.

Japan and Germany share a highly positive assessment of the IAEA's role. We are facing major tasks. We must reach a new consensus within the IAEA so that it can carry out its non-proliferation functions even more effectively. This involves, in the first instance, the overdue universalization of the Safeguards Agreements and the Additional Protocol.

We need progress towards multilateral supervision of the fuel cycle so as to minimize the risks arising from the spread of that technology. By developing and presenting the Multilateral Enrichment Sanctuary Project (MESP) Germany has made an important contribution to this, and will continue to do so. Finally, we need an organization that sets the right priorities and that implements these core tasks as efficiently as possible, particularly given the currently tight global economic situation.

I wish you the best of luck in your new and challenging post, and I can assure you that you can rely on Germany's full support. I look forward to working with you closely and in a spirit of trust.”