The IAEA and the Japanese consortium -- a group of universities and scientific institutions -- have already trained more than 175 medical professionals in areas such as cardiac imaging, pediatric nuclear medicine, and neurology and psychiatry. The new arrangement, signed last week, will focus on building capacity related to clinical applications of nuclear medicine. All of the consortium members are exploring the opportunity to host at least one scientific visit per year, the IAEA said.

The IAEA's Rays of Hope initiative was launched in 2022 to support countries to establish or scale up safe, secure, and effective radiation medicine capabilities, to bridge a major shortfall in equipment and highly skilled personnel in many developing countries.