MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia signed a memorandum to deepen strategic cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and related high technologies in St. Petersburg on 29 January. The document was signed by Chairman of the Belarusian State Committee on Science and Technology (SCST) Sergei Shlychkov and Director General of Rosatom State Corporation Alexey Likhachev, BelTA learned from the press service of the State Committee on Science and Technology.
According to the memorandum, Belarus-Russia strategic cooperation will cover several areas. The parties will expand cooperation in non-energy applications of nuclear technologies. In particular, the parties will create a multipurpose nuclear research reactor, a set of laboratories, a multipurpose irradiation center and a nuclear medicine center in Belarus, both as separate facilities and as part of a comprehensive project featuring several separate elements that together form the Center for Nuclear Research and Technology. Other key areas include nuclear medicine, production of medical equipment, digitization and telecommunication technologies, modernization of Belarusian industrial enterprises, including with the use of robotization, additive manufacturing and composite materials.
"Non-nuclear energy solutions are also relevant for bilateral cooperation. These include energy storage systems, utilization of production and consumption waste, elimination of accumulated environmental damage. Special attention will be paid to the production of ionizing radiation detectors and components, improvement of infrastructure for the final isolation (burial) of radioactive waste," the committee noted.
A comprehensive interdepartmental program on Russia-Belarus cooperation in nuclear non-energy and non-nuclear projects will be drawn up.
The State Committee on Science and Technology has done a lot of work to prepare and sign the memorandum, the press service said. The committee was authorized to sign the document by Resolution No. 853 of the Belarusian Council of Ministers of 1 December 2023. On behalf of Russia the document was signed by Rosatom State Corporation.
