The government of Myanmar has signed various Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom for cooperation in training and skill development in the field of atomic energy, and shaping positive public opinion on nuclear power in the Southeast Asian nation, according to a Rosatom statement earlier this week.
The statement said that the MoUs were signed between Myanmar’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Rosatom following a meeting in Moscow on July 11 between the Chairman of the Myanmar State Administration Council, Prime Minister, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev.
The MoUs were signed on the Myanmar side by its Minister of Science and Technology Myo Thein Kyaw. “The parties stressed that the signing of the Memorandums lays a solid foundation for the development of further cooperation on practical projects”, the Rosatom statement said.
In June 2015, Russia and Myanmar signed a preliminary agreement to cooperate in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, while in May 2007, the two countries had signed an agreement to construct a nuclear research centre in Myanmar that would comprise a 10 MW light water reactor, an activation analysis laboratory, a medical isotope production laboratory, a silicon doping system, as well as nuclear waste treatment and burial facilities.
Myanmar signed a country programme framework with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2016 and also joined the Convention on Nuclear Safety in the same year. It has been a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since 1992.
