Regional Co-operative Agreement (RCA)
East Asia & Pacific Section
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100,
A-1400 Vienna, Austria.
What is RCA Background of RCA RCA Member States Achievement of RCA
RCA
:The
Regional Co-operative Agreement (RCA) is an intergovernmental agreement for
East Asia & Pacific region, under the auspices of the
IAEA,
in which the Government Parties undertake, in co-operation with each other and
with the IAEA
to promote and co-ordinate co-operative research, development (R&D) and
training projects in nuclear science and technology through their appropriate
national institutions.
Background of RCA: The first regional collaborative agreement which began in the early 1960s under the sponsorship of the IAEA was called the "India-Philippines-IAEA (IPA) Agreement". This laid the foundation of the Regional Co-operative Agreement (RCA).The IPA involved the making of a spectrometer in India and its set-up in the Philippine Research Reactor-I with IAEA funding. This was used for training by neighboring countries. The IPA ran in the mid-1960s, and later in the early 1970s. It was in 1972 that ten governments in the Asia and Pacific region undertook, in co-operation with each other and the Agency, to promote and co-ordinate co-operative activities in nuclear science and technology. It was the first regional agreement of such magnitude concluded under the auspices of the Agency. Since then, the RCA has expanded considerably, both in its membership and in the size and subject scope of its programme. RCA projects have contributed significantly in a number of priority areas vital to regional socio-economic development, such as food and agriculture, health care, industry and environmental protection. The number of scientists, engineers and technicians of RCA Member States involved in various projects has grown to several thousand. With the growing emphasis placed on technical co-operation among developing countries, the share of specialists from developing countries engaged in various RCA activities is steadily increasing.
RCA Member States: The original RCA Member States initially involved ten (10) countries. The earliest signatories to the original agreement, according to the records were the following: India(7June 72), Vietnam (12 June 72), Indonesia (16 Oct 72), Thailand (4 Dec 72), Philippines (17 April 73), Singapore, Pakistan (6 Sept 74), Korea (9 Oct 74) Bangladesh (23 Oct 74) and Sri Lanka (9 Mar 76); now there are seventeen (17) which are as follows: Australia, Bangladesh, People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia Republic of Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The newest members are Mongolia (1922), Myanmar (1994) and New Zealand (1994).
The RCA celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1997. During the 25 years of the RCA’s existence, the participating countries and the Agency have accumulated valuable experience of co-operation and of co-ordinating nuclear-related development activities in the region. In most cases, RCA projects and the activities carried out under the Agency’s regular technical co-operation programme at the national and regional level complement each other, every effort being made to avoid duplication and to use the available manpower and financial resources in the cost-effective manner.
The RCA agreement has the
IAEA as a partner, not a party. It is one of three regional cooperative agreements under the aegis of the IAEA. The other two are ARCAL for Latin America, formed in 1984, and AFRA, for Africa, formed in 1990.
Achievements during the last 25 years of RCA
Agriculture:
Industry:
Health:
Radiation Protection:
Energy:
Technical Co-operation: