Russia’s role in nuclear energy cooperation is a key topic at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), taking place in Vladivostok, Russia, with new initiatives announced.
Speaking at a forum organized by the Znanie Society at EEF, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of nuclear cooperation with China, India and other countries.
“We have many plans with both China and India. I would highlight nuclear energy,” he said, according to a report in TASS. Lavrov added that additional capacity is planned in China, on top of the power units already built by Rosatom. Work is underway with India, as well as Bangladesh.
It was also announced at the EEF by Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Russia’s Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, that work on the contract to build and operate Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant, Ninh Thuan 1, “is in full swing on the contract and on reaching legally binding agreements on the timeline and configuration of the project.” Rosatom is carrying out survey work on the research reactor, Likhachev added.
Likhachev also told reporters that a contract was signed with Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants to build the two-unit Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), with a total generating capacity of 2,400 MW.
“The document signed today marks a new stage in our cooperation with Kazakhstan. In the near future, Rosatom will carry out design work and establish an international consortium of equipment suppliers. At every stage of the project, we will remain firmly focused on our main objective: to build and commission power units that meet the strictest international safety and efficiency requirements,” Likhachev told reporters.
Chairman of the Republic’s Atomic Energy Agency, Almassadam Satkaliyev, issued a statement confirming the signing of the contract, and Kazakhstan’s readiness to complete all domestic procedures necessary to begin construction, including issuing the relevant site license next year, which will serve as the starting point for construction.
All the above projects involve Rosatom’s Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors.
