Areva has presented Azerbaijan government officials with proposals to construct a nuclear research reactor in the Caspian Sea country.

Ali Abbasov, Azerbaijan's communications and technology minister, met a delegation of experts from the French company on 3 September. The reactor could "transform Azerbaijan into a regional centre" for nuclear research, Abbasov said, according to a ministry statement.

French President Francois Hollande's visit to Azerbaijan in May has contributed to the "expansion of relations" between the two countries, the ministry said. During an Azerbaijan-French business forum held in Baku, the French president had emphasized opportunities in the field of nuclear energy and renewable energy, it said.

The ministry established a National Nuclear Research Center in May, according to a decree by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev. The centre will use nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes, the ministry said. The head of the French delegation and Areva's director for nuclear energy in the countries of Central Asia, Abbas Jafari Jalali, stressed at the meeting on 3 September the importance of organizing training for staff at the centre.

Abbasov also said the country had already begun cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Centre for Nuclear Research.

The two sides agreed "to accelerate work to expand [their] cooperation", the ministry said.

(World Nuclear News)

Bakudaily.Az