Belarus, Vietnam to cooperate in nuclear, radiation safety

Belarus and Hanoi intend to cooperate in the sphere of nuclear and radiation safety. The parties discussed cooperation prospects and plans during working meetings, BelTA has learned.

Representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) met with representatives of the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS) and the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM). The meetings took place as part of the visit of Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko to Vietnam.

Gosatomnadzor Head Olga Lugovskaya presented Belarusian experience in this field and described the state of affairs in the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety. The development of the relevant infrastructure in Belarus, regulatory actions and decisions were also mentioned.

During the working meetings close attention was paid to discussing prospects of bilateral cooperation and to sharing the best practices in ensuring nuclear and radiation safety as well as state regulation in this sphere. Possibilities were discussed of organizing applied scientific and technical work meant to develop nuclear and radiation technologies as a whole and those meant to support regulatory actions in nuclear and radiation safety in particular.

Representatives of the Belarusian delegation and the Vietnamese one also touched upon concrete aspects of organization of such interaction ranging from the establishment of working communications to choosing their coordinators for the sake of preparing working plans and events.

The Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS) of the Vietnamese Science and Technology Ministry was established in 1994. It provides state regulation in the field of radiation and nuclear safety, safety of sources of ionizing radiation, nuclear materials, and nuclear installations. VARANS is headquartered in Hanoi. The Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM) has been operating since 1976 as a scientific organization in the system of the Vietnamese Science and Technology Ministry.