Havana, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday highlighted its support for Cuba's Science and Technology Program for 2018-2019 in the areas of human health, food security and environmental protection.

IAEA Deputy Director General Yang Dazhu, during his visit to Cuba, said that cooperation with Cuba would also focus on comprehensive improvement of the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Concerning food security, Yang said that Cuba plans to strengthen its laboratory capacity to identify and mitigate contaminants in fruits and vegetables for human consumption.

On the health front, he stressed the usefulness of the sterile insect technique to control the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and lower the spread of Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Yang said the technology can help ease the public health emergency caused by the Zika virus in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

In addition, the IAEA envoy also addressed Cuba's nuclear safety, saying that the island has followed international recommendations and made progress in nuclear technologies.

Yang arrived in Cuba on Saturday for a week-long stay, during which he will visit several nuclear technology development centers. As part of his visit, Yang met on Monday with Cuban experts at the Agency of Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies (AENTA).