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The signatories of the ITER Agreement, together with French President Jacques Chirac. From left to right: Vladimir Travin (Deputy head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), Russian Federation), Takeshi Iwaya (Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan), Xu Guanhua (Minister of Science and Technology, People's Republic of China), José Manuel Barroso (President of the European Commission), Jacques Chirac (President of the French Republic), Woo Sik Kim (Vice Prime-Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea), Anil Kakodhar (Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy), Raymond Orbach (Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy), and Janez Potočnik (European Commissioner for Science and Research). Click on the picture for a higher-resolution photo. The picture can be used for any purpose, with credit "ITER".

Today, Ministers from the seven Parties of the international nuclear fusion project ITER (China, European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America) came together to sign the agreement to establish the international Organization that will implement the ITER fusion energy project.

The signature took place at a ceremony at the Elysée Palace in Paris and was hosted by the President of the French Republic M. Jacques Chirac and by the President of the European Commission, M. José Manuel Durão Barroso. The signed documents were formally handed over to Dr. Werner Burkart, Deputy Director General, Nuclear Sciences and Applications, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to be deposited with the Director General of the IAEA. A pdf of the Agreement can be found here.

News on the first Interim ITER Council will be added here in the course of the day.

The speeches delivered during the ceremony will be published on the ITER website as soon as possible, as well as photos of the event.

A short movie compilation of the signature event is available for download here (134 MB, DVD format, to download press right mouse button and select "save target as"). A quicktime version will be made available later.

The first meeting of the Interim ITER Council took place at Ministerial level after the signing ceremony, under the chairmanship of Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research. This constituted the first act of the newly established ITER Organization. With the signature of the ITER Agreement and the first Council meeting, the ITER Organization can start its operation on a provisional basis pending the entry into force of the agreement which is expected in the course of 2007.

ITER Director General Nominee Kaname Ikeda said "With the accomplishment of today's meeting, the ITER Organization is able to embark on its mission, as a worldwide international cooperation, to help create a new source of energy for humankind".

BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS RELEASE
ITER will be the world's largest experimental facility to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. The construction costs of ITER are estimated at 5 billion Euros over ten years, most of which will be awarded in the form of contracts to industrial companies and fusion research institutions. Europe will contribute roughly half of the costs of construction, while the other six parties to this joint international venture (Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, India, and the USA), will contribute equally to the rest.

In June 2005, the ITER partners decided unanimously to choose the European site at Cadarache, in the South of France, as the location for the construction of ITER.

The ITER Organisation will be established as an international organisation by the ITER Agreement. The ITER Agreement sets out all the necessary provisions for the ITER Organization to become operational, such as its purpose and functions, its members, its legal personality, its Council, Director-General and staff, its resources, etc.

Upon its entering into force, the ITER Agreement will have a duration initially of 35 years with the possibility of extension for up to 10 years.

Fusion is the process which powers the sun and the stars. When light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a prototype fusion power plant that is safe and reliable, environmentally responsible and economically viable, with abundant and widespread fuel resources.

for more information, please contact
Mrs Jennifer Hay
Public Relations ITER Cadarache JWS
Bat 519 CEA Cadarache
13108 Saint Paul-lez-Durance
France
T: 00 33 44 22 54 657
E: jennifer.hay

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