Vietnam Shares Interests In New Nuclear Technologies

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Governor - Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is attending the regular meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

Ruby Lee

lethanhha8991@gmail.com June 08, 2022 | 17:23

The regular meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors is held this week from June 6-10 in Vienna, Austria.

Speaking at the event, as VOV News reported, Ambassador Kien highlighted Vietnam’s major policies and efforts to ensure nuclear security and safety and its atomic energy application for peaceful purposes and sustainable development, contributing to realizing the country’s international commitments.

Vietnam Shares Interests In New Nuclear Technologies

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Governor - Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks at the meeting (Photo: VNA)

He shared common interests in the potential of new technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs), transportable nuclear power plant (TNPP), and floating nuclear power plants (FNPP) as well as assessments of their challenges to the international legal framework and their consequences for the environment, safety and security.

The ambassador affirmed that the research, development, licensing, operation and deployment of the new nuclear technologies should be approached carefully and gradually.

"It is necessary to soon form a legal framework that complies with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, protects the environment, respects sovereign independence and territorial integrity, ensures transparency, and follows common procedures and practices," he said.

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam (R) shakes hands with IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation Hua Liu after the signing ceremony. Photo: baochinhphu.vn.

According to vietnamplus, the Vietnamese representative also suggested the IAEA continue to support member countries, especially developing ones, in improving their capacity in nuclear research and application, and response to radiation and nuclear incidents, and in building and perfecting the domestic legal framework on nuclear law.

Cooperation with the IAEA also helps Vietnam successfully build a team of experts in many fields related to nuclear technology, and participate in more research programmes and projects hosted or initiated by the agency.

One of Vietnam's priorities in joining the IAEA Board of Governors for the 2022-2023 term is to cooperate with other members of the board to promote the IAEA's role in nuclear technology development for peaceful purposes, as Government News reported.

Each year, the IAEA Board of Governors convenes meetings in March, June, September and November. The June meeting this year sees the participation of representatives from 35 Board members, IAEA member countries and international organizations.

Vietnam was elected as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors in September 2021 for the 2021-2023 term.

The Vietnamese mission to international organizations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on March 10 signed a Country Programme Framework (CPF) for cooperation with the agency on the sidelines of the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors to define cooperation contents between the two sides in the 2022-2027 period.

This is an important document that helps the IAEA identify Viet Nam's interest and needs in nuclear technology application, thereby supporting the IAEA in developing its annual technical cooperation program. The CPF between Viet Nam and IAEA plays is of special significance as Viet Nam would be the president of the meeting of member countries of the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA) in 2022-23.

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