Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom will set up an information center in the Kingdom of Cambodia, says a memorandum published in mid-May. Along with the center, the parties will establish a working group on peaceful uses of nuclear power. Relevant documents were signed by Rosatom CEO Sergei Kirienko and Say Samal, Cambodia’s Minister of Environment and Chairman of the National Council for Sustainable Development. Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev and Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, were present at the signing ceremony.
The information center will become a venue for cultural and educational events organized primarily for local school and university students, focusing on the multi-faceted promotion of nuclear energy. The Cambodians will have a chance to see how the national nuclear industry works and what prospects it has. New information will definitely raise the profile and prestige of engineering profession.
It is not the first year Cambodia has been considering an opportunity to construct a nuclear station and has requested Rosatom to assist in developing its national nuclear infrastructure. Cambodia has been an IAEA member since 2009 when it rejoined the organization after its withdrawal on 26 March 2003. It took the country six years to realize the importance of being a part of the international nuclear community.
According to Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Russia views Cambodia as an important, almost strategic partner. “We believe that the Kingdom of Cambodia is our important, virtually strategic partner and hope for the development of every aspect of our relations,” he said after the talks with his Cambodian colleague Hun Sen.
Rosatom’s representatives took part in the negotiations between Dmitri Medvedev and the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his visit to Russia. Along with other issues, the parties discussed the prospects of establishing a nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam as the use of civil nuclear energy is seen as a priority by the both countries. The cooperation in this field is centered around the first Vietnamese nuclear station, now under construction in Ninh Thuận.
Meanwhile, the Nuclear Information Center in Hanoi built by Rosatom in 2012 played host to the Nuclear & Science Days in Hanoi, a series of educational events dedicated to nuclear science and technology. The events were organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency (VAEA) and Hanoi Polytechnic University.
Rosatom’s representative Andrei Stankevich stressed in his welcoming speech how important educational events are for the locals, primarily school and university students, and for the emerging nuclear industry in Vietnam. “Our major challenge is to raise awareness and inform people of advantages offered by nuclear power. Rosatom pays special attention to the education of the young because it is a key to success of the country’s nuclear power industry and safe future of the nation,” he said.
The first event in the series was a child drawing contest devoted to Vietnam’s nuclear future. Rosatom also presented Nuclear ABC, a children’s book in Vietnamese about nuclear energy. All the guests had a chance to participate in educational and entertaining activities, such as Nuclear Quiz, Nuclear Station Plain and Simple, and others. The information center organized an educational media seminar entitled What Every Journalist Should Know about Nuclear Energy. A lecture of a Russian expert on the fundamentals of nuclear energy was presented in Hanoi Polytechnic University. The Russian Center for Science and Culture in Hanoi awarded the winners of the Physics Olympiad organized by the Rosatom Corporate Academy for high school students. All the winners got a chance to enter one of Russia’s nuclear universities.
