Iraq, Russia discuss developing nuclear energy for peaceful uses
The Iraqi Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Naeem Al-Aboudi, the director general of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM), Alexey Likhachev, and officials from both sides. Photo: INA
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Naeem Al-Aboudi, and the director general of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM), Alexey Likhachev, discussed prospects for collaboration in the development of peaceful applications of atomic energy.
“We had an important meeting with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) and its director, Alexey Likhachev, where we discussed cooperation in developing peaceful uses of atomic energy,” Al-Aboudi said via X, formerly Twitter.
Al-Aboudi explained that the steps are part of the requirements of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission to have a Zero-Energy Experimental Pile (ZEEP) reactor and a research reactor, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
In early October 2022, the head of the Iraqi Radioactive Sources Regulatory Authority (IRSRA), Kamal Hussein Latif, announced the postponement of a project to build the first nuclear power plant in Iraq due to the failure to form a new government.
Latif elaborated that several countries expressed their willingness to help Iraq build nuclear reactors, adding that Iraq needs nuclear power plants in light of the regular power outages.
The Iraqi authorities planned to build a nuclear power plant in the country to meet the demand for electricity.
In 2021, ROSATOM, one of the world leaders in nuclear fuel production, announced that it would discuss prospects for cooperation with Iraq in this field.
The previous nuclear power reactors in Iraq, constructed during the regime of Saddam Hussein, were destroyed about 30 years ago.
Tuwaitha, the country’s primary nuclear research facility, situated south of Baghdad, had three reactors.
Two of the three reactors were destroyed by US airstrikes during the Gulf War in 1991 following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait the year before, and the other reactor was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in 1981.