Vietnam
agreed on Tuesday to seek greater nuclear energy cooperation with South Korea,
opening the way for its participation in the development of an atomic power
plants in energy-hungry Vietnam.
The agreement was reached during talks between
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and his South Korean counterpart Lee
Myung-Bak, Lee’s office said.
The statement is a confirmation of the two
sides’ commitment to the cooperation, rather than an indication that South
Korea will get an order to build a reactor, a Bloomberg report quoted the South
Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy as saying in a separate statement.
Sang is in South Korea for a three-day visit.
The leaders agreed on the need to strengthen
cooperation for peaceful use of atomic power, a joint statement said.
"The two sides took a special note of
South Korea’s proposals on developing Vietnam’s nuclear power plant based on
South Korean technologies, nurturing human resources, transferring technologies
and cooperation in other related areas," it said.
South Korea operates 20 nuclear plants, which
generate some 35 percent of its electricity needs, and plans to build 12 more
over the next 14 years.
It has vowed to stick to its atomic power
development despite heightened concerns following Japan’s earthquake and
tsunami on March 11 that caused the world’s worst atomic accident in 25 years.
Fast-growing Vietnam faces energy shortages
and foreign businesses have expressed concern about a lack of energy and other
infrastructure.
Hanoi has recently sought co-operation with
nuclear-capable countries to help boost its needs.
Last month it Japan officially secured support
to help build two nuclear reactors in Vietnam and in October last year Hanoi
signed a deal with Russia worth an estimated $5.6 billion for its first nuclear
power plant.
‘Strategic’ partners
South Korea and Vietnam have boosted economic
and diplomatic relations since they normalized ties in 1992. Two-way trade
totaled $12.9 billion last year.
The two nations established a strategic
partnership in 2009 and have decided to make 2012 the “Vietnam-Republic of
Korea Friendship Year” to celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
They agreed to boost trade to $20 billion
earlier than their target year of 2015 and further to $30 billion.
Thanh Nien/AFP
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