Russia wants to build nuclear power plants in the UK, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Monday.
Shuvalov’s statement came after the Russian-British inter-governmental committee on trade and investment wrapped up its ninth session at the Queen Elizabeth II conference hall in London.
“We discussed joint cooperation in some areas, including the construction of nuclear power plants. The Russian side is interested in such construction and commissioning of new plants here in Great Britain in cooperation with Rolls-Royce,” Shuvalov said.
The United Kingdom operates 16 nuclear reactors at nine nuclear power plants, generating about one sixth of the UK’s electricity. In October 2010, the British government gave the green light to building up to eight new nuclear power plants in the country.
The committee also discussed “some aspects of oil production cooperation,” the development of Russia’s Skolkovo hi-tech fund and also the support of small and medium business with the participation of entrepreneurs, investors and sectoral specialists from both countries.
Russia is one of the UK’s three most rapidly developing trade and investment partners, and there are very few concrete disagreements between Russia and UK in the economic sphere, Business Secretary Vince Cable said.
