The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will make every effort tohelp Vietnam successfully implement its first nuclear power project inthe central province of Ninh Thuan, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amanohas said.

Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi on January9, the IAEA leader stated Vietnam is a very important partner of theagency, which is evidenced by its Chairmanship of the IAEA’s Board ofGovernors -- the most significant policy-making body of the agency -- inthe 2013-2014 tenure.

Yukiya Amano said his visit toVietnam, from January 7-11, sought to boost cooperative ties withVietnam in stepping up the application of nuclear energy in general andVietnam’s nuclear power programme in particular.

The two sides evaluated the outcomes and impacts of the IAEA-supported projects in Vietnam, he added.

Measures for future collaboration were deliberated, he said,mentioning Vietnam’s rich potential for cooperation with the IAEA,citing the launch of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project as an example.

He also referred to the application of radioactivesubstances in the treatment of cancers and the use of nuclear energy inirrigation and water management and insect extermination for crops.

According to Yukiya Amano, developed and developing countriesequally have the right to access nuclear power, and Vietnam is amongseveral nations which want to develop this type of energy.

The IAEA is willing to support every country in developing its nuclearpower in a safe and sustainable manner, he pledged.

Vietnamhas consulted the IAEA since it adopted an initiative to develop nuclearpower, he said, noting that the country has made progress in thissector by participating in international conventions, carrying outpersonnel training and building feasible reports.

However,the country still has a lot to do as a nuclear power project requirestime and complicated procedures, he continued.

The IAEA has,accordingly, dispatched its leading experts on nuclear power to thecountry and will maintain the activity annually, Yukiya Amano stressed.

Besides, the agency is also providing technical support inthe 2012-2013 period through several projects worth about 1 million EUR(1.3 million USD), focusing on the development of nuclear powerinfrastructure.

In term of nuclear power application, theagency has helped Vietnam upgrade laboratories at the Institute forNuclear Science and Technology and use nuclear power in agriculturaldevelopment, he said.

Vietnam needs to develop nuclear power in a safe and sustainable manner for decades-long usage, the IAEA official concluded.-VNA