ROSATOM and National Council for Sustainable Development of Cambodia Held First Joint Work Group Meeting

The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM and the National Council for Sustainable Development of the Kingdom of Cambodia (NCSD) held the first Joint Working Group meeting on August 17-18. Say Samal, Cambodian Minister of Environment, Chair of the NCSD, and Dmitry Tsvetkov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Cambodia, participated in the opening session of the meeting.

The event was the first step in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the joint working group for studying the peaceful use of atom, which was signed earlier this May.

“Russia and Cambodia are now actively developing bilateral economic relations, and nuclear technologies are among the most promising areas of cooperation. The atom may become the cornerstone of Cambodia’s sustainable development: on the one hand, it is able to satisfy the energy needs of the growing nation’s economy, on the other hand, being a clean energy source, it may help to preserve the country’s unique nature”, Ambassador noted.

Various companies of ROSATOM participated in the meeting, including representatives of Rosenergoatom, the group’s nuclear power plants operator, who shared the Russian experience and solutions in the sphere of national nuclear infrastructure development in countries, which are nuclear energy newcomers.

From the Cambodian side in the event participated representatives of following organisations: National Sustainable Development Council, National Science and Technology Council, Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, as well as other Cambodian authorities and educational institutions.

At the meeting the parties discussed the possibilities of various implementation of nuclear technologies to support the socio-economic development of Cambodia, with the immediate priority given to public awareness raising and human resource development in nuclear energy and nuclear technologies.

“The cooperation between Cambodia and Russia in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes is part of our effort to promote the overall socio-economic development of the country, to modernize our economy, to move toward a knowledge-based economy by reducing our dependence on natural resources, and by promoting research, development and innovation. We are interested in nuclear technology for its many applications in healthcare, industry, agriculture, and other sectors of the economy, and, in the long run, as possible option for meeting our increasing energy demand. We are glad that the first steps in this direction we are making together with such an experienced partner as ROSATOM”, said Say Samal.

One of the key areas of the Russia-Cambodia cooperation in nuclear industry, is the dissemination of reliable information about nuclear technologies among the population. To achieve this, the parties are implementing the project to establish Nuclear Energy Information Centre in Cambodia.

“The center is a comprehensive communications platform, which will allow people of various age and professions to learn in an interactive form about the basics of atomic energy and technologies. ROSATOM has already opened 17 such centers, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Turkey. According to the statistics, more than 80% of people positively change their attitude towards nuclear energy after visiting these centers”, told Egor Simonov, Vice-President ROSATOM – Southeast Asia.

For reference:
In May 2016 ROSATOM and National Council for Sustainable Development of the Kingdom of Cambodia signed two documents: Memorandum on Nuclear Energy Information Center in Cambodia and Memorandum on the Cambodia-Russia joint working group on the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Both documents were signed by Mr. Sergey Kirienko, Chief Executive Officer of ROSATOM, from the Russian side, and Mr. Say Samal, Minister of Environment and Chairman of the National Council for Sustainable Development, from the side of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Memoranda were signed with witness of Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and Mr. Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

In November 2015 the National Council for Sustainable Development of Kingdom of Cambodia and ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation signed a Memorandum of cooperation for the peaceful uses of atomic energy. The memorandum involves the following areas of cooperation between the parties: cooperation in the area of engineering, construction and operation of a nuclear research center on the basis of multiple research reactors; basic and applied research; nuclear and radiation safety, use of radioisotopes and radiation technologies and their application in industry, medicine, agriculture and other fields; education and personnel training.

ROSATOM is the Russian Federation national nuclear corporation bringing together circa 400 nuclear companies and R&D institutions that operate in the civilian and defense sectors. With 70 years' expertise in the nuclear field, we are a global leader in technologies and competencies offering cutting-edge industry solutions. We work on a global scale to provide comprehensive nuclear services that range from uranium enrichment to nuclear waste treatment.

One Raffles Place, Tower 2 #19-61
Singapore 048616
tel: +65 6808 5687

This release was published on openPR.