Iran has expressed interest in building a new nuclear power plant (NPP) in cooperation with Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, the company's CEO Alexei Likhachev told Russian state media.
The matter was discussed during an Iranian presidential visit to Moscow on Jan. 17 to sign a long-awaited comprehensive strategic partnership deal. The agreement, an updated version of an earlier agreement signed in 2001, has 47 articles and covers all areas of bilateral cooperation, although specific details have not been disclosed.
"During this visit, the Iranian side proposed expanding cooperation... to select another site to build several large-capacity [nuclear] power units,” Likhachev said.
“It's a good initiative. We need to clarify the technological aspects of the project and, of course, discuss the financial scheme... But we can see from the Iranian side's attitude that they are ready to begin this work immediately," he noted.
He added that Iranian partners had also expressed interest in expanding small NPP projects, though this would require additional intergovernmental agreements.
The announcement comes as both countries seek to strengthen their bilateral energy cooperation amid Western sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin said that the new agreement between Russia and Iran sets ambitious goals, calling it "a breakthrough document" for the stable development of the two countries and the entire region.
"This is precisely the meaning of the signed interstate agreement on comprehensive strategic partnership. It sets ambitious goals and outlines guidelines for deepening bilateral cooperation in the long term,” he said.
The comments from Russia come as the country is constructing over 10 nuclear power units on foreign soil to help capitalize on burgeoning energy demands driven by artificial intelligence and developing markets, a senior Kremlin envoy revealed in December.
Boris Titov, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative for international co-operation in sustainability, highlighted Russia’s ambitions in an interview with the Financial Times. “We are building more than 10 different units around the world,” Titov said. “We need a lot of energy. We will not be able to provide this energy without using ... nuclear. We know that it’s safe ... it’s not emitting [greenhouse gas emissions], so it is very clean.”
This article was originally published by bne IntelliNews.
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