OREANDA-NEWS. November 23, 2011. A meeting between co-chairs of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific Cooperation took place in Hanoi on November 21, 2011.

On the Russian side the event was attended by the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Igor Shuvalov, on the Vietnamese side the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Huang Chung Hai was present.

During this meeting the two intergovernmental agreements were signed. Thus, the Ministries of Finance of Russia and Vietnam signed an agreement to provide a state credit for building the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam by Russian technology. The document was signed by the Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak and his Vietnamese counterpart Chan Suan Ha.

Also an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the Center of Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam was signed. Their signatures to the agreement set the General Director of the State Corporation "Rosatom" Sergey Kiriyenko and the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam Le Dinh Tien.

The General Director of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko, in his speech after the signing of the agreements, stated that all the necessary conditions for realization of large-scale project to ensure energy safety of Vietnam for decades to come have been formed by the present moment. S. Kiriyenko said that Russia welcomed the choice made by the Vietnamese friends in favor of Russian technology pointing out that the Russian proposal brings a huge expertise of building of nuclear power plants in Russia and abroad as Russia possesses reliable technology to meet all current requirements, primarily for safety.

In the meeting also a contract for a feasibility study (FS) of NPP was signed. Based on the agreement of the parties, feasibility studies to be financed by the Russian side.

It was noted at the meeting that the direction of cooperation towards personnel training for nuclear power generation industry in Vietnam is deemed a priority. State Corporation "Rosatom" has already started training specialists for Vietnam. Just over a year ago, in September 2010, the International Personnel Training Center was opened in Obninsk which started training atomic energy specialists from Vietnam. The cooperation in the field of training for the nuclear industry of Vietnam is a part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Corporation "Rosatom" and the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam of March 12, 2010.

The construction of the nuclear power plant and the Center and their subsequent operation is the key to the successful nuclear power development in Vietnam.