Croatia's representative on the board, Mario Horvatic, said on Thursday that the selection of Croatia for a two-year term should be perceived as recognition of Croatia's foreign policy and the country's engagement on the international security scene. The appointment of Croatia's representative is also a result of a long-standing cooperation between Zagreb and this independent international organization related to the United Nations system,
Since 1993, when it became an IAEA member, Croatia has developed and implemented many projects of technical cooperation covering a wide area of application of nuclear technology in medicine, security of radioactive sources and the storage of radioactive material.
For the 2007-2008 period Croatia is proposing five new projects, worth some USD900,000, to be implemented in Croatia in cooperation with the IAEA, including research in medicine, subterranean water projects in Dalmatia, etc.
The Board of Governors, which is composed of 35 Member States, generally meets five times per year to examine and make recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA´s accounts, programme, and budget and it considers applications for membership. It also approves safeguard agreements and the publication of the IAEA´s safety standards and has the responsibility of appointing the Director General of the IAEA with the approval of the General Conference.