New Delhi, September 30: Mohammad ElBaradei, Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will be honoured with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development today.
The award will be conferred on Elbaradei by President Pratibha Patil at a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The International Jury of the Prize, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had decided to confer the honour on ElBaradei in November last year.
The IAEA chief is being recognised for “his impassioned opposition to the use of nuclear energy for military purposes and his steadfast espousal of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, sustained over many years”.
ElBaradei played an important role in India clinching the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, a prerequisite for New Delhi’s re-entry in international nuclear commerce.
A lawyer by training, ElBaradei began his career in the Egyptian Diplomatic Service in 1964 and served in the UN both in New York and Geneva.
ElBaradei has held his present position at the IAEA since 1997. His third term at the helm of affairs of the global nuclear watchdog ends on November 30.
Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano has been elected to succeed ElBaradei. He will assume office on December one.
–PTI