WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday welcomed the appointment of Japan's Yukiya Amano as the new head of the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog.
"I would like to offer my congratulations to Yukiya Amano of Japan on his appointment as the next director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Clinton said in a statement.
The IAEA, she added, "represents the premier international institution for promoting the safe and secure application of nuclear energy in the pursuit of prosperity, and working jointly on global challenges such as nuclear terrorism and proliferation.
"In selecting Ambassador Amano, the member states of the IAEA reiterate their common resolve to collaborate on these pressing issues," she added.
Clinton also thanked Mohamed ElBaradei for his 12-year tenure at the helm of the organization.
She said the United States was ready to help Amano "in ensuring that the agency is prepared to meet the growing challenges of the 21st century and has the appropriate resources and the authorities it needs to fulfill its mandate."
Amano on Friday promised to do his "utmost" to resolve the long-running nuclear standoff with Iran, saying it was the director general's job to make sure members stuck to their commitments.
"What is expected of the director general and the agency is to implement these safeguards agreements in a professional and impartial manner. And I will do my utmost" to do so, he said.
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