Speech of WANO Chairman Lauren Stricker at ATOMEXPO 2011

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to give a warm welcome to organizers, par ticipants and guests of the ATOMEXPO 2011 International Forum on behalf of the World Association of Nuclear Operators.

All those who are present at the Forum seem to be well aware of the great importance of the problem of safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plants nowadays. This has been clearly confirmed by the recent events taken

place at the Fucusima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan. My view is that this problem is the most important one among those the world atomic energy is now facing.

Our Association, that celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2009, aims at doing what it can to contribute to solving the problems having to do with the safe operation of nuclear power plants through stimulating the information exchange and the further development of contacts between the member states both unilaterally and on a multilateral basis.

The ATOMEXPO 2011 International Forum provides participants, guests, representatives of the WANO a golden opportunity to effectively discuss on a wide basis the issues arising from observing the safety culture at nuclear power plants. I think the right attitude toward observing the safety culture will not only improve the modern system of the safe operation of nuclear power plants but will also reduce the number of breaches not influencing the safety itself.

I do hope that the coming Forum will enable participants and guests to share the useful experience and knowledge in the area of designing, building and operating nuclear power plants, that have been acquired by the states with highly developed atomic industry and by the countries that only recently have prepared the way for creating atomic energy.

I wish participants and guest of the Forum were busy doing successful and fruitful work for the benefit of the development of the atomic industry.