Russia's Medvedev signs nuclear power deal with Vietnam

Visiting Russian president Dimitry Medvedev (L) shakes and with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet during an official welcoming ceremony held on October 31, 2010 at the presidential palace in Hanoi. The Russian leader is making a state visit after attending the East Asia summit held on the sidelines of an anual Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Vietnamese capital. The state visit is aimed at boosting ties between two former communist allies. AFP PHOTO / POOL / HOANG DINH Nam (Photo by HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)

October 31, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) --- The construction of Vietnam's first nuclear power plant will strengthen the country's positions as a strong, independent and modern state, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday following the signing of a nuclear power deal between the two countries.
Under the deal, Russia will initially build two power units in Vietnam with a capacity of 1.2 GW each.

Overall, Vietnam plans to build eight nuclear power plants in five provinces by 2030, with a total capacity of 15 GW, or 10% of all electricity produced in the country. Each NPP would have from four to six generating units.

"This is a very important project, a large project designated for long use. In the final account, if we implement the ideas stipulated in the project and build the capacity designed for the nuclear power plant, the project will capture a considerable part of Vietnam's electricity market," Medvedev said after the signing ceremony in Hanoi.

"We believe that the project will allow Vietnam to develop as a modern and independent state, which does not only extract and refine oil but also uses other sources of energy. And it is very important in a contemporary world to be an independent, strong and modern state," Medvedev said.

Moscow has also pledged to provide Vietnam with a loan for the nuclear power plant construction.


HANOI, October 31 (RIA Novosti)

Medvedev in Vietnam

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (2nd R) hold hands with Philippine's President Benigno Aquino (L), Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (2nd L), Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (C) and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung during the ASEAN-Russia Summit on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi Oct 30, 2010. (GETTY IMAGES / REUTERS/Kham )

October 30, 2010 HANOI (KATAKAMI / THE STRAITS TIMES) --- PRESIDENT Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Vietnam on Saturday for a visit that will see Russia sign a multi-billion-euro nuclear power plant deal with the former Soviet-era Communist ally.

Mr Medvedev said he was expecting 'serious results' from the trip, which is aimed at establishing wider energy ties.

Referring to close links between the Soviet Union and Vietnam in the 1980s, Mr Medvedev said he hoped their shared history would provide a firm foundation for a tight, modern-day economic and political partnership.

'We were together with the heroic Vietnamese people during the years of its fight for independence and reunification, during the complicated period of reviving its national economy,' he wrote in an article for the Vietnamese newspaper Nhan Dan, the text of which was released by the Kremlin.

The president is scheduled to meet top Vietnamese officials on Sunday and agree on the construction of Vietnam's first nuclear power plant.

An official with Russian state nuclear conglomerate Rosatom told AFP the construction of the two-unit plant is estimated at over 4.0 billion euros (S$7.2 billion). --

AFP