Mohammad ElBaradei, head of UN nuclear watchdog, said on Monday he would continue to hold high impartiality and independence, which are core principals and values of international civil service.

At a press briefing here after he was reappointed as Secretary General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), ElBaradei said he was humbled by the unanimous support and confidence he had received by all members of the Agency.

Earlier on Monday, the Board of Governors offered ElBaradei another four years until November 2009 following US dropped its opposition late last week.

"In the next four years we have tremendous challenges. We have major issues facing global security; we have major issues facing development. These two issues cut across all our activities," said ElBaradei.

"My colleagues and I are committed to do our very best to protect ourselves against the dissemination of nuclear weapons; and against poverty. We will continue to work with the members of the international community to see a world free from nuclear weapons," he added.

The appointment will be submitted for approval at the IAEA General Conference, which opens 26 September 2005 in Vienna.

ElBaradei, the 62-year-old Egyptian diplomat, is the IAEA's fourth director general since 1957. He was first appointed to the office effective December 1997, and reappointed to a second term in 2001.

Source: Xinhua