About SESAME Launch of SESAME

On behalf of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei, and myself, I bring greetings on the occasion of the ground-breaking ceremony for the establishment of the International Centre for 'Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications for the Middle East'.

The SESAME facility will be important for the promotion of scientific collaboration between participating countries and will have the potential to become a regional centre of excellence. It will certainly be significant in promoting co-operation among the scientific communities in the region and beyond. The Agency is following the establishment of the facility with great interest.

We have already made some modest contributions to the SESAME project through the provision of support to workshops, for example, the SESAME Workshop on Accelerator Science held in Jordan, 9-19 September 2000, and in training scientists and engineers at synchrotron radiation laboratories in Europe and the United States.

Our support has been channelled through the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, of which the Agency is a major sponsor, and through Fellowships under the Agency's technical co-operation programme. We will, on request, continue to support training of technical staff and assist with the provision of expert services through our technical co-operation programme with Jordan, as the host country for the SESAME facility. The Agency additionally appreciates the efforts being made by the International Interim Council, SESAME Member States, and other interested parties to establish the SESAME facility under the auspices of the UNESCO, and the large financial and in-kind commitment of resources made available by Jordan.

The Agency has accumulated much experience with the application of accelerator and synchrotron radiation, through its work in many diverse areas. Applications include materials modification, sterilisation of medical products, diagnostic and therapeutic medical applications, isotope production and materials characterisation. In particular, the increased use of synchrotron radiation for materials characterisation during the past ten years will mean that many more synchrotron radiation specialists will be available for other, different applications in the future, and so expanding the horizons of the technology. The SESAME project will play a large part in this process for the region. For our part, the Agency will welcome the participation of SESAME project participants in our relevant activities.

I would like to thank the government of Jordan for the opportunity to be here on this historic day, and convey best wishes on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the establishment and successful operation of the SESAME facility.