As the CEAC noted to Prensa Latina online, during his address at the 70th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rodriguez Batista emphasized that for Cuba—a Small Island Developing State—protecting the marine environment is a top-tier strategic priority.

  The CITMA head recalled that cooperation with the IAEA regarding marine issues was strengthened in 2024, when the CEAC was designated the agency’s first Collaborating Centre for marine research in a Small Island Developing State.

  This designation recognizes Cuba’s scientific capabilities and its commitment to sharing them with other member states, particularly those in Latin America and the Caribbean.

  Rodriguez Batista highlighted Cuba’s aim to consolidate the CEAC as a regional hub for training, knowledge transfer, and service provision, noting that this objective requires sustained cooperation among the IAEA, its member states, and international partners.

  The designation of the CEAC as an IAEA Collaborating Centre is part of a more than two-decade-long history of technical cooperation between Cuba and the agency, focused on environmental radioactivity monitoring, coastal management, and marine research.

  The NUTEC Plastics initiative, launched by the IAEA in 2020, seeks to combat plastic pollution using nuclear and isotopic technologies in more than 60 countries.

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