The IAEA Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme offers a unique programme for its Member States to work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by building necessary capacities in the application of nuclear technology. This interregional project aims at supporting the human and institutional capacity of SIDS in key areas such as human health, nutrition, food, agriculture, water management, marine environment as well as safety and security through knowledge and experience-sharing among SIDS.

The National Steering Committee will be established by the National Liaison Officers (NLO) and include all counterparts and relevant stakeholders for each thematic area. SPC may support the DTM with the implementation and coordination of the project in the Pacific. A Resource Mobilization Committee will be established to ensure continuous involvement with opportunities for outreach and partnership building. Members will include the IAEA, including the TCPC Strategic Partnership Section, DTM, SPC, CARICOM, UNEP – CARRCU, SPREP, UWI and USP. They will meet on a regular basis and leverage existing regional and interregional meetings and conferences to conduct outreach and resource mobilisation activities. The Committee will develop strategies based on a consultative process with all participating countries. The process will be supported by the IAEA who will disseminate relevant information about upcoming opportunities and invite countries to provide relevant inputs, to be collected and synthesized by the DTM in preparation for the meetings.

Nuclear techniques will be used in agriculture, radiation medicine and in marine environment. Isotopic techniques will be utilized in nutrition. The above mentioned applications have shown sound advantages in the TCP, where IAEA plays a partner role with the countries providing technical, management and financial assistance to build human and institutional capacities.

The project aims to develop adequate human resources in SIDS in the application of nuclear technology in key thematic areas. Furthermore, the project aims to actively promote networking and knowledge management among SIDS and to strengthen the existing physical infrastructure for the application of nuclear. The project intends to facilitate the signature of cooperation agreements among capacity building centers within SIDS regions that contribute to the sustainability of the project deliverables. In the first year, project is planned to precisely identify gaps and capabilities and willingness of existing institutions to act as future capacity building centres. In the following two years, the project will be focusing on delivering trainings and expert missions to leave the last year for consolidation of the expected results. Furthermore, all participating Member States agree to establish a National Steering Committee that will meet once per quarter to coordinate the implementation of planned activities and coordinate with the Designated team Member (DTM) to facilitate the interregional implementation process.

The IAEA will engage organizations such as the Pacific Community, the Caribbean Community, international development banks and UN agencies for financial and infrastructure support in food and agriculture, water and the environment as well as health and nutrition. In addition, members of the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF), which include the Asian Development Bank, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the European Union, the European Investment Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the World Bank and the United States States, will be engaged.