LA PAZ (Sputnik) – Russia and Bolivia have signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and cooperation in building a nuclear research and technology center on Sunday.
“We are grateful to the Republic of Bolivia, President Evo Morales, for having chosen us and Russian technologies for the construction of a first of its kind center in Bolivia,” Russian nuclear chief Sergei Kirienko said at the signing ceremony.
Accompanied by Morales and Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy Luis Alberto Sanchez, Kirienko vowed to establish the “best and most advanced nuclear research center in Latin America and the world” in El Alto, the city adjacent to La Paz.
Russia's Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering will serve as the center’s developer
Morales allocated $300 million on the project for the South American country to pursue nuclear research in medical, agricultural, geological and other fields
Russia and Bolivia signed an agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation in 2015. The Rosatom state nuclear agency and the Bolivian Hydrocarbon and Energy Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for peaceful uses of nuclear energy in November.
