EU helps Vietnam enhance nuclear safety management

The project, which was carried out from May 2016 to April 2019, aimed to enhance the capability and effectiveness of the Vietnamese regulatory authority and its technical support unit in managing nuclear safety in accordance with international standards, officials said at a conference held in Hanoi Thursday to review the project.

To achieve these goals, the project helped Vietnam develop a legal and regulatory framework on nuclear safety; develop a quality management system for the agency in managing nuclear facilities; enhance Vietnam's capability to independently assess and appraise safety records; build a human resource development plan and a sustainable training program for the agency; build Vietnam's nuclear inspection capacity; improve transparency and public information.

Vietnam's experts and officials in nuclear safety have had the opportunity to attend conventions, get general and practical training at nuclear research facilities and management organizations in France, Germany, Belgium and Finland.

Speaking at the conference, Vietnam's Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said the project was implemented on schedule and met its initial objectives.

The project has played an important part in the completion of a number of draft documents on nuclear safety, nuclear inspection and incident response.

Vietnam's state management on nuclear and radiation safety has also built an integrated management system in accordance with advanced international standards and formulated a human resource development plan.

"We can affirm that the project's achievements have contributed to enhancing the capability and effectiveness of Vietnam's nuclear regulatory agency," Anh said.

Ambassador Bruno Angelet, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, stressed that in recent times, the EU and Vietnam have cooperated not only in the nuclear sector but also in commerce, energy, investment and national security and defense.

Through this project, the EU hopes to help Vietnam ensure that its nuclear regulatory agency is capable of managing nuclear safety with other countries in the region, Angelet said.

Vietnam is running one nuclear reactor in Da Lat in the Central Highlands. The country's legislators scrapped nuclear power plans in November 2016 citing high costs.