Timor-Leste Becomes 182nd Member State of the International Atomic Energy Agency
Timor-Leste was admitted as the 182nd Member State of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on September 14th, 2026, during the opening of the organisation’s 70th General Conference in Vienna, Austria. The national delegation was led by the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jesuína Maria Ferreira Gomes, accompanied by Ambassador António da Conceição and other national representatives. 
The admission was approved by the General Conference and acknowledged by the IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in his opening address, during which he welcomed Timor-Leste as the Agency’s 182nd Member State.
In the national statement delivered after the announcement, Vice-Minister Jesuína Maria Ferreira Gomes expressed her appreciation to the Board of Governors, the General Conference, the Director-General, and Member States, particularly partners from the Asia-Pacific region, for their support throughout the accession process.
The Vice-Minister stated that Timor-Leste’s accession to the IAEA reflects its commitment to multilateralism, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology.
This process is also underpinned by the safeguards framework established between Timor-Leste and the IAEA. The Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, concluded under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, together with its Additional Protocol and Small Quantities Protocol, entered into force on September 25th, 2024.
In her address, the Vice-Minister also highlighted the areas in which Timor-Leste intends to develop cooperation with the IAEA, namely water resources management, agriculture, health, energy, and the strengthening of national regulatory capacities.
Membership will enable Timor-Leste to strengthen technical cooperation with the Agency and to gain greater access to the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, including in areas related to sustainable development and to the strengthening of national institutional and technical capacities.
During the General Conference, Timor-Leste received congratulations on its accession, including from the IAEA Director General and Member State representatives. In the United States of America’s national statement, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright congratulated Timor-Leste on joining the organisation and expressed his country’s readiness to work with the new Member State.
The 70th session of the IAEA General Conference is being held in Vienna from September 14th to 18th, 2026, bringing together representatives of Member States to review the Agency’s programme and activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, technical cooperation, safety, and safeguards.
