IAEA and IDB sign Latin America nuclear partnership

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a cooperation agreement on nuclear energy and development in Latin America and the Caribbean, giving governments a new channel for technical planning and advice. Nuclear power supplied 1.8% of the region's electricity in 2025, and the IAEA says regional capacity could more than double by 2050 in its high projection.

Key facts

• The IAEA and IDB signed the memorandum of understanding in New York on September 24, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to the IAEA's September 25 announcement.
• The framework covers dialogue, knowledge sharing, technical assistance, capacity building, energy-system planning and infrastructure, the IAEA said.
• Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are currently the only countries in the region using nuclear power, which generated 1.8% of Latin American and Caribbean electricity in 2025.
• The IAEA projects regional nuclear generating capacity could more than double by 2050 and rise about 2.5-fold by 2060 in its high case.
• Small modular reactors could account for around 40% of new nuclear capacity in the region, under the IAEA's projections.

What happened

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn signed the memorandum of understanding in New York. The agreement sets out a framework for cooperation; it does not announce a loan, plant construction, or a specific country project. The distinction matters. Governments weighing nuclear power often need help well before procurement: demand forecasts, grid studies, regulatory capacity and financing structures all shape whether a proposal can proceed.

The organizations say they will work on dialogue and knowledge sharing, technical assistance, capacity building, energy-system planning and infrastructure. They will explore technical, institutional and economic questions for large reactors, small modular reactors and other emerging technologies. The release does not assign a budget, name participating national governments or set a schedule for country-level work.

The signing expands a relationship that already covered health, food security and water management. The new arrangement links the IAEA's nuclear and technical expertise with a regional development lender's experience in infrastructure and public investment. That may help interested governments assess nuclear energy alongside other supply options, but the announcement itself stops short of a financing commitment.

Why it matters

Three countries in Latin America and the Caribbean operate nuclear power plants: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Together, nuclear generation remains a small share of the regional electricity mix, at 1.8% in 2025. The IAEA's outlook suggests that share could grow, but only if countries convert interest into institutions, projects and operating capacity.

The projections give the agreement a practical backdrop. In the IAEA's high case, regional nuclear generating capacity could more than double by 2050 and increase roughly 2.5 times by 2060. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are expected to supply around 40% of new regional capacity in those projections. These are scenarios, not a construction pipeline: they indicate what the agency considers possible under its assumptions, not what governments have approved or financed.

Development banks can influence the early stages by supporting energy planning and institutional preparation. Nuclear projects require long planning horizons, stable rules and agencies capable of reviewing designs and overseeing construction and operation. A cooperation framework can help governments test those requirements before making a large capital commitment. It cannot by itself establish a regulator, resolve a waste policy or make a proposed plant bankable.

The arrangement also shows how multilateral finance institutions are engaging with nuclear energy as part of development planning. The IAEA has announced cooperation with other international financial institutions, including the World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank. That wider pattern does not mean each institution will finance a reactor; it means nuclear options are entering discussions that previously centered more narrowly on technical assistance or other energy technologies.

Background

Nuclear power in the region is concentrated in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, each with a different operating history and development path. Brazil has also joined the global commitment to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, originally adopted at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai. The IDB agreement covers the broader Latin American and Caribbean region, so the next useful signal will be whether cooperation becomes country-specific rather than remaining at the institutional level.

The demand case in the IAEA's forecast is not limited to one reactor type. Its partners intend to explore both large-scale plants and SMRs, as well as emerging technologies. That leaves governments room to compare grid scale, construction time, financing needs and local capability instead of treating small reactors as an automatic fit. The agency's recent global capacity outlook also shows how sharply forecasts depend on assumptions about policy and build rates. NNN has examined SMR proposals tied to new electricity demand, a related question for countries deciding what generation mix can meet future needs.

What's next

The IAEA announcement does not name a first country program or set a date for project selection. The next evidence to watch is a work plan, technical mission or national energy study that identifies participating governments, deliverables and funding. A specific IDB financing operation would mark a different step from this cooperation pact.

For now, the agreement creates a route for governments to seek technical and planning support while they consider nuclear power. The test will be whether that support produces public studies and national decisions, not simply additional institutional dialogue.