The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Rosatom agreed to cooperate in the improvement of the nuclear infrastructure in the countries that are just taking the path of national nuclear power development. “This includes, in particular, nuclear trainings, development of the industry regulations, analysis of every safety facilities that is to be made under the auspice of the IAEA,” said Alexei Likhachov, CEO of Rosatom.

An agreement to this effect was signed by Yukiya Amano, IAEA Director General, and Alexei Likhachov. Russia will make a non-financial contribution to nuclear infrastructure improvement in emerging nuclear countries. The agreement was signed on Wednesday, during the visit of Rosatom’s CEO to Vienna, and initiated from the Russian side. ‘We ensure succession with the aim to boost joint projects, we keep on increasing financing. Considering this, we take upon ourselves certain tasks while also determining these tasks for our cooperation with the IAEA. The point is to work actively in newcomer countries, those that join the nuclear power club’, noted Alexei Likhachov after signing the agreement.

Outcomes of the first meeting between the heads of the IAEA and Rosatom

The first meeting of Amano and Likhachov took place on 19 April. Rosatom’s CEO said that the meeting was long though constructive. “The meeting was rather long. We went through almost the whole agenda of cooperation between the IAEA and Rosatom. We also spent some time on sharing our ideas about the development prospects for both the global nuclear industry and particular energy sectors,” said Alexei Likhachov. Rosatom’s CEO mentioned that one of the issues discussed at the meeting was the importance of project evaluation from the point of view of its fair cost effectiveness and safety. He added that Mr Amano and representatives of the IAEA emphasized their interest in contracts with Rosatom as well as their willingness to develop cooperation in the human resources area.