China, Cambodia agree to nuclear energy cooperation

China, Cambodia agree to nuclear energy cooperation

Cambodia has signed a memorandum of understanding with China National
Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear
energy. The agreement calls for cooperation on human resources development.

The agreement was signed yesterday by CNNC chief accountant Li Jize and
Tekreth Samrach, Cambodia's secretary of state of the Office of the Council
of Ministers and vice chairman of the Cambodian Commission on Sustainable
Development. It was signed during the 14th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN
Business and Investment Summit, being held in Nanning, the capital of
China's Guangxi province.

The signing was witnessed by Cambodia's minister of commerce and other
government officials, CNNC said.

"This is another important initiative of China National Nuclear Corporation
in implementing the 'One Belt, One Road' strategy and strengthening
cooperation with ASEAN countries in international production capacity,
laying a solid foundation for follow-up cooperation between the two
countries," CNNC said.

One Belt, One Road is China's project to link trade in about 60 Asian and
European countries along a new Silk Road.

CNNC noted that Cambodia's current power supply cannot meet its basic
electricity needs, while sectors including medicine, agriculture and
industry require a "comprehensive upgrade". It said Cambodia has great
market potential for nuclear power and nuclear technology applications.

On 14 August, CNNC vice president Wang Jinfeng met with Tin Ponlok,
secretary general of Cambodia's National Council for Sustainable
Development, to consult on the draft MOU. Cambodia's Ministry of Environment
said these discussions focused on human resources in nuclear power for
industrial development and environmental protection.

In late August, CNNC president Qian Zhimin visited Cambodia and met Say
Chhum, president of the Senate of Cambodia. Qian noted that CNNC will
support Cambodia in applying nuclear technologies in industry, agriculture
and medical science, thus developing its economy and improving the welfare
of the population. Cambodia can start training workers, promoting new energy
exploitation and infrastructure construction, and increasing its
capabilities in scientific research and industrial manufacturing, he said.
This will help the country achieve its long-term goal of the peaceful use of
nuclear energy, he added.

In November 2015, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom signed a nuclear
cooperation agreement with Cambodia, focused on a possible research reactor,
but with consideration of nuclear power. A further cooperation agreement was
signed in March 2016, and in May Rosatom and the National Council for
Sustainable Development signed memoranda to establish a nuclear energy
information centre in Cambodia and set up a joint working group on the
peaceful uses of atomic energy.

In mid-2016, Cambodia's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy held
discussions with CNNC on building a nuclear power plant and establishing the
regulatory and legal infrastructure for that, in collaboration with the
International Atomic Energy Agency.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-China-and-Cambodia-agree-to-nuclear-ene
rgy-cooperation-1309174.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com




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