The IAEA Hosted a Conversation Forum on Partnerships to Develop and Deploy Nuclear Technology
From May18 to 20, IAEA conducted a conversation forum on developing nuclear power partnership programs and nuclear technology as a part of the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) project. Around 60 nuclear-field professionals from across the world, including Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Egypt, Turkey, and Vietnam engaged in the meeting.
This event aimed at creating a platform for a dialogue and experience exchange in strategic opportunities for bilateral and multilateral partnerships to develop nuclear energy programs. The participants raised issues on the development and implementation of innovative nuclear power systems, and discussed institutional aspects, such as markets, resources, management, and public acceptance of nuclear technologies.
Yulia Chernyakhovskaya, deputy director general for Nuclear Infrastructure of Rusatom Service JSC, talked on Cooperation with Countries Embarking on The First NPP and/or RR Projects on Sustainable Development of Nuclear Infrastructure.
In her presentation, the speaker described the system of inter-governmental and inter-agency agreements, where it is important to have mutual obligations with a partner country for the integrated development of nuclear infrastructure and nuclear safety regulation infrastructure. This includes issues of specialists training, the emergency planning system, and spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste treatment.
“A country, building its first NPP,should have a trilateral plan for nuclear infrastructure development with IAEA and Russian partner organizations. This will help to avoid duplication and distribute resources for organized work of dozens of institutions and organizations involved efficiently for more than 10 years. There is enough work for everyone.”Yulia Chernyakhovskayasaid.
It is a comprehensive approach to nuclear infrastructure development based on safety that can ensure sustainable and long-term development of the nuclear power programme, which serves the country's interests in achieving UN sustainable development goals. Participants agreed that IAEA role in building strategic partnerships and sustained dialogue is hard to be overestimated, though it is no less important to mobilize in-house resources and develop a network of bilateral and multilateral partnerships to share practices, experience, and technologies.
Russia, on its part, provides comprehensive assistance to foreign partners in the development of various areas of nuclear infrastructure, supporting the development of the country's human resources, emergency preparedness and response system, and radiation monitoring system, as well as providing assistance in the development of the customer country legislative and regulatory framework. By light coordination mechanism with Rostekhnadzor and cooperation of Regulators, regulatory personnel competencies are developed, experience is shared, and assistance in the license documentation analysis is provided.
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Rusatom Service JSC is a part of the electric power division of the Rosatom State Corporation. The company provides a full range of services and supplies, required for operation and repair, to foreign nuclear power plants with VVER. The company serves as an integrator of activities related to nuclear infrastructure and training of all personnel categories, including operational and nuclear infrastructure personnel's training, construction of training centers and their equipping, simulators supply and psycho-physiological examination laboratories export. It carries activities in virtually all countries with operating VVER nuclear power plants outside Russia.
Rusatom Service holds leading positions in the markets of China, Bulgaria and Armenia and acts as a general contractor of works on lifetime extension, scheduled preventive maintenance and upgrade of the equipment at nuclear power plants with VVER.
