HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam and Russia have agreed to quickly negotiate and sign agreements on building nuclear power plants in Vietnam, the two countries said in a joint statement.
"The development of the plants with advanced technology will strictly be compliant with nuclear and radiation safety regulations and for the benefit of socio-economic development," they said in the statement, which was dated Sunday and followed a visit to Moscow by Vietnamese leader To Lam.
The Southeast Asian nation has restarted plans to develop nuclear power plants that were suspended nearly a decade ago, as part of its efforts to ramp up its power generation capacity to support its fast-growing economy.
The government has previously said it expected the first nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of up to 6.4 GW to be online between 2030 and 2035.
The government said earlier this year it would hold talks with foreign partners about nuclear power projects, including Russia, Japan, South Korea, France and the United States.
Vietnam and Russia have also agreed to boost cooperation in oil and gas industries, including the provision of Russian crude oil and liquefied natural gas to Vietnam, according to the joint statement.
It said Russia and Vietnam will also facilitate the expansion of their energy companies in each other’s territories.