±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Council meets in China
18 Jun 2010
The representatives of the seven ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Members gathered in Suzhou, China, for the sixth ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Council.
On 16-17 June, the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Council, the Governing Body of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ, convened for its sixth meeting. The two-day meeting in Suzhou, China brought together representatives from the seven ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Members: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States under the chairmanship of Evgeny Velikhov (Russia).
The meeting opened with a statement from Dr Wan Gang, Minister of Science & Technology of China. Minister Wan welcomed the delegates to Suzhou and underlined China's commitment to the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Project, "The Chinese Government gives high importance to ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ and joins hands with the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ and the other six Members to guarantee the success of the project. ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ will demonstrate to the world that global challenges can be overcome by science and technology."
The sixth meeting of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Council in Suzhou, China.
All Members of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ collaboration reiterated their support for the project and commended the progress that has been achieved. "In bringing ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ this far, we have together had to face many daunting challenges. With full mutual understanding, good will and family spirit, we have no doubt that we shall be able to find the best way forward to serve our common objective to secure the complete success of this remarkable project," commented José Manuel Silva RodrÃguez, Head of the European Delegation.
±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Director-General Kaname Ikeda gave a detailed presentation of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ progress since the last Council meeting. He highlighted the fact that the project is now moving into the construction phase. He commended the strong collaboration between the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Domestic Agencies and the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ that resulted in the detailed papers that were presented to Council. The Director-General pointed out that all Members are now seriously engaged in calls for tender and recognized the steady progress in manufacturing of elements for ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ. "Thanks to tremendous efforts from both the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ and the Domestic Agencies, about 60 percent of the global Procurement Arrangements for ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ have already been concluded." He noted that construction of the first ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ buildings and the excavation of the Tokamak Pit are expected to start in July 2010.
The ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Council noted and reviewed reports from its scientific and managerial subsidiary bodies which outlined the progress on subjects such as: the Draft Annual Work Plan for 2011, Financial Audit, the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ's draft budget for the next years, Export Control, Peaceful Uses and Non-Proliferation, and the Test Blanket Module program. Council approved the annual accounts and balance sheets for 2009.
Chinese Vice Minister of Science & Technology Cao Jianlin, Council Chair Evgeny Velikhov, Chinese Minister of Science & Technology Wan Gang, and the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Director-General cut the ribbon to open the Suzhou ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ exhibition.
The ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Members agreed to hold a Council Meeting in Cadarache, France in the last week of July 2010 when all delegations expect to be in a position to complete discussions on the next steps of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Project.
Prior to the opening of the Council meeting, all delegates took part in the opening ceremony of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ and nuclear fusion exhibition.