Nepal has decided to take membership of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), local Nepal Samacharpatra daily reported on Thursday.

"A recent meeting of the Council of Ministers decided in this regard," the daily reported quoting government sources.

"The cabinet (Council of Ministers) has asked the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to work on the issue following the decision," said Purusottam Ghimire, deputy secretary at the MoST.

He said that Nepal decided to take the membership as the IAEA that works on preventing proliferation of atomic weapons, started to invest in the area of technology and human resources development.

Various intellectuals and institutions have been pressuring the government to take the IAEA membership reasoning that non-membership hindered to take IAEA's cooperation for secured use of needed radiation in the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

The radiation is used while carrying out X-ray and cancer treatment. The specialists say the radiation may harm people's health in case they are not used safely.

"So, the IAEA can train people for secured use of radiation and doing the same in various countries," health specialists here say. As many as 142 countries have taken the membership of IAEA so far.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)