The European Union has committed to continue its provision of technology to improve the legal framework for nuclear safety in Vietnam, EU Ambassador to Vietnam Franz Jessen said in Hanoi yesterday.
“With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS), the EU will continue sharing European and international experiences and best practices under the framework of nuclear safety,” he said.
He was speaking at a conference to announce the completion and results of the co-operation between the EU and Vietnam on a project titled: “Technical assistance for improving the legal framework for nuclear safety and strengthening the capabilities of the regulatory authorities of Vietnam”.
The co-operation framework was agreed on December 3, 2012, with a budget of two million euros funded by the EU.
The three-year project aims to help Vietnam to prepare the manpower needed for the development of nuclear power, focusing on improving the technical capacity of Vietnam’s regulatory authority, site evaluation and inspection of nuclear power plants, and emergency response and control of environmental radioactivity.
At the conference, Minister Nguyen Quan also appreciated the EU’s assistance to help Vietnam implement the project.
“The project has played an important role by improving nuclear regulations to develop nuclear power, and the regulatory authority,” Quan said.
In the past three years, the EU has worked closely with VARANS to review nuclear regulations following EU and international best practises. Expertise and knowledge has also been transferred on the general legal framework as well as quality management and technical co-operation.
Twenty-six workshops in Europe and Vietnam have been held, and 22 Vietnamese workers have been trained in France, Germany, Belgium and Finland.
“We have not come here to give lessons to Vietnam. We are here to share experience and knowledge to help Vietnam improve a legal framework to develop nuclear power plants,” said Jorge Tirira, the project’s technical director.
At the conference, Prof Vuong Huu Tan, the director general of VARANS and director of the project in Vietnam, said the project had strengthened the capabilities of the nuclear regulatory body, especially now that Vietnam had decided to develop nuclear power.
However, Vietnam still faced many difficulties due to its young, inexperienced human resources.
He said that through this project, the EU and VARANS would continue to work closely to ensure Vietnam met international standards in the field of nuclear safety.
Đăng ký: VietNam News