Vienna  - Luis Echavarri, the head of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in Paris, confirmed Thursday that he was Spain's official candidate to replace Mohamed Elbaradei as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Echavarri told German Press Agency dpa that the Spanish government had formally deposited his candidature at the IAEA on Wednesday.

The race to succeed Elbaradei at the helm of the Vienna-based global nuclear watchdog was began again in late March, after neither Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano nor South African diplomat Abdul Samad Minty got the necessary majority among the 35 countries on the IAEA board in a first session of voting.

Since 1997, the Spaniard Echavarri has served as Director General of the NEA, which is the nuclear energy branch of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of industrialized states.

"I know about policies, but I also know about technical issues," said Echavarri, pointing to his long experience cooperating with the IAEA and the nuclear industry.

Another candidate is Amano, who has decided to run again. Malaysia is considering fielding its top nuclear official Noramly Muslim. Slovenia is set to nominate former IAEA ambassador Ernest Petric, according to media reports. (dpa)