Russia, Myanmar launch working body for nuclear tech cooperation

Russia, Myanmar launch working body for nuclear tech cooperation

Russia and Myanmar this week established a working body for nuclear
technology cooperation, according to officials.

Russia has said a nuclear power plant is not currently on the table for
Myanmar. Photo: Aung Shin / The Myanmar TimesRussia has said a nuclear power
plant is not currently on the table for Myanmar. Photo: Aung Shin / The
Myanmar Times

Little is known about the bilateral taskforce, including who is involved or
even how many members are included. The two countries signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) to cooperate in nuclear technology for peaceful purposes
in June last year.

According to a Ministry of Education official, the working body is another
step in developing nuclear technology with the help of Russia.

Russian government officials are now in Nay Pyi Taw to discuss further steps
for the MoU, said U Khin Maung Latt, director general of the Department of
Technology Promotion and Coordination (DTPC) under the Ministry of
Education.

"We have a roadmap of further steps for the MoU . We have discussed and
agreed for further cooperation," he said.

Currently there is no plan to start a nuclear power plant (NPP), according
to a representative from Russian state-owned Rosatom Corporation. Rosatom
signed the MoU with the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2015 under the
U Thein Sein administration.

"We are discussing cooperation of non-energy nuclear applications such as
developing human resources, agriculture and health sectors with nuclear
technology," Egor Simonov, regional vice president for Southeast Asia of
Rosatom, told the media on October 26 in Nay Pyi Taw.

"At the moment, we are not talking about NPP at all, but it is this
government's decision. We present what we have and we can do. It depends on
your country," he added.

"We are engaging with [the new] government officials although the change of
administration cannot affect our MoU's status," said Mr Simonov. "But it is
too early to say about progress of our cooperation."

The MoU was the first official step for interaction between Russia and
Myanmar in the arena of nuclear technology, including research,
radioisotopes production, nuclear medicine, radio-immunotherapy, nuclear
safety, radiation risk assessment, and training scientists and
administrators, Rosatom said in a statement released last year.

Nikolay Drozdov, director of international business at Rosatom, told The
Myanmar Times in Moscow in June, "We are planning to create a working body
and are making a roadmap for the realisation of our project."

Since 2007 Russia and Myanmar have had an inter-governmental agreement
regarding nuclear technology and building a nuclear research centre,
according to Rosatom.

Russia has trained more than 700 Myanmar students in nuclear and
nuclear-related technologies in the past 10 years.

The Russian state firm is seeking potential investment opportunities in the
Southeast Asian region, and is offering comprehensive nuclear technology and
experience, said Rosatom officials. The company is building two nuclear
power units in Vietnam, and has also won a tender for the preliminary design
of a 10-megawatt reactor in Indonesia (see map).

Rosatom has two operating nuclear reactors in India and China, with two more
in each country under construction. The Russian state-owned company has also
won a project to construct a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

Myanmar has signed several protocols regarding nuclear technology, including
an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the
World Nuclear Association.

Earlier this month, the Department of Technology Promotion and Coordination
announced a tender for a Nuclear Research Building slated for Hmawbi
township, Yangon.

"The Hmawbi project [Nuclear Research Building] is not concerned with
Rosatom. It is our own program for very basic research in purposes of
developing nuclear technology for agriculture, livestock and managing
natural resources," said U Khin Maung Latt.

Myanmar signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 and
parliament approved becoming member of CTBT in August this year. An Atomic
Energy Law was imposed in 1998 and the government is now drafting the
Myanmar Nuclear Law.

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Ref:
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/nay-pyi-taw/23368-russia-myan
mar-launch-working-body-for-nuclear-tech-cooperation.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com