Myanmar has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom for cooperation in the field of nuclear infrastructure assessment and enhancement, Rosatom has announced.
A Rosatom statement said the MoU was signed by Myanmar’s Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Myo Thein Kyaw and the Rosatom Director General (DG) Alexey Likhachev on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week held in Moscow earlier this month.
“The parties plan to determine the current needs for the development of the nuclear infrastructure of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and draw up a work plan for priority areas important for implementation of the small nuclear power plant construction project in the country,” the statement said.
The MoU also provides for additional Russia-Myanmar cooperation in the field of training and human resources development, enhancement of safety culture in the organisations and participating in the nuclear energy development program of Myanmar, it said.
In February 2023, Russia and Myanmar signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The parties agreed on cooperation, aimed in particular at implementing a project for the construction of a small nuclear power plant (SNPP) in Myanmar, the statement added.
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 joined the Convention on Nuclear Safety in the same year. It has been a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since 1992.
Rosatom also cooperates with Myanmar in the field of renewable energy development, aiming to build over 370 MW of wind energy in the Southeast Asian nation. Under an agreement signed earlier this year, a new set of wind farms are going to come up in Myanmar to be built with the assistance of NovaWind, the wind energy division of Rosatom.
