1. Prinath Dias Former RCA Focal Person

2.  A little history  The policies behind the achievements  Some thoughts for the future

3.  The India-Philippines-Agency Agreement (IPA)  The 1972 Agreement (INFCIRC/167)  Entry into force -12 th June 1972  Member States - India (1972), Vietnam (1972), Singapore (1972), Indonesia (1972), Thailand (1973), The Philippines (1974), Republic of Korea (1974), Bangladesh (1974), Malaysia (1975), Sri Lanka (1976), Australia (1977), Japan(1978) and Pakistan(1982)  The first WGM held in 1979 in Japan with 16 participants.

4.  The Agreement was extended twice in 1977 and 1982  The 1987 Agreement (INFCIRC/167/Add. 13)  New Member States – Peoples’ Republic of China (1987), Mongolia (1992), New Zealand (1997), Myanmar (1998), Nepal (2012)  The Agreement has been extended five times in 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012

5.  WG to Review the Management Structure of the RCA (1996)  Submission of new project proposals only by RCA MSs  Use of Regional Experts to support TOs  Lead Country Coordinator Concept  Establishment of Regional Resource Units

6.  Establishment of the RCA Regional Office (2002)  Identification of the scope and the roles and responsibilities of the RCARO  Formation of an Standing Advisory Committee  Establishment of a reporting mechanism

7.  Strategic Session during the 26 th NRM (2004)  Adoption of criteria for RCA Projects  Adoption of a new procedure for programme development  Identification of roles and responsibilities of all RCA stakeholders  Establishment of project teams, adoption of national work plans and submission of six monthly progress reports  Identification of the means of improving visibility and viability of the RCA Programme  Revision of RCA Guidelines and Operating Rules incorporating these recommendations

8.  RCA Medium Term Strategy (2006)  RCA Vision and Mission  RCA Core Values  RCA Governance  Critical Success Factors  Strategic Directions  Ensuring effective management  Achieving greater impact from RCA projects  Developing sustainable technological capabilities in MSs  Performance Indicators

9.  RCA Regional Profile (2010)  Contains  An analysis and main details of all past and current RCA Projects  Main achievements in each project area  Gaps in each project area that needs to be addressed  Current trends in each project area  Based on  Feedback received from the MSs through a survey  Information in Agency databases  RCA Annual Reports

10.  RCA Strategic Priorities for 2012-2017  A long-term strategy extending over several TC cycles, based on an analysis of the previous projects and on the current needs of the RCA Member States  Developed by 5 expert groups  Inputs  The RCA Regional Profile  Criteria for RCA Projects  TC Strategy and Criteria for TC Projects  Inputs from the technical officers of the IAEA and  Their own knowledge and experience.

11.  RCA Agreement  RCA leadership role  The need for an entity to guide RCA to meet future challenges  Programming  Long term planning – the need to consider the past and the future in deciding on the programme  Project design – the need to develop expertise in the use f LFM in project design  Project Criteria – The need to ensure RCA Project criteria are applied in drafting project concepts

12.  Strengthening management at national level  National RCA Secretariat  National Thematic Sector Coordinators  Collaboration with NPCs at national level  Financial sustainability  EB funding  Other regional organizations  Policies and implementation  The need to give due consideration to implementation in making policy decisions