WASHINGTON, June 18: The United States has welcomed the decision by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to establish a committee on safeguards and verification.

“The reason it’s significant is because it will begin a process of strengthening the agency’s ability to monitor and enforce compliance with nuclear non-proliferation obligations,” the State Department’s deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters in Washington.

“We think it’s an important step and we look forward to working with the board and the committee to help the IAEA develop all the tools that it needs to fulfill its mandates and to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime,” he added.

The committee will work as a consultative body of the IAEA board of governors, assist the agency in carrying out its function of safeguarding and monitoring and present recommendations to the board.

The tenure of the committee will be two years, and after that the board will evaluate its efficiency and determine its future. The committee will be open to all member states of the agency.