Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 18 November (BelTA) – When implementing the national nuclear program Belarus closely cooperates with the IAEA, the head of the nuclear energy department at the Belarus Energy Ministry Liliya Dulinets told BelTA learned after the seminar on interaction with the public and involvement of all stakeholders.

"Belarus has been implementing its nuclear power program in close cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency who has vast decades-long experience in nuclear power development," said Lilya Dulinets. “Undoubtedly, Belarus enjoys the support of the IAEA in all areas of its national nuclear power program,” she noted. According to her, Belarus complies fully with all the IAEA recommendations.

At the moment, only two countries in the world are building their first nuclear power plants: Belarus and the United Arab Emirates. "IAEA experts visited the site in Ostrovets where Belarus' NPP is located. The project is large-scale, complex, but, as the IAEA experts pointed out, the whole process is at a high level,” noted expert.

According to the IAEA recommendations, in order to build its first nuclear power plant a country needs to develop the infrastructure for nuclear power, which should cover 19 areas, including training of personnel, nuclear waste and spent fuel management, funding, physical protection of the object. One of the areas is the participation of stakeholders.

The three-day seminar has aroused great interest. "On behalf of the IAEA the seminar is attended by four experts, including those from the Czech Republic and Spain, two from the IAEA Secretariat. We hope that during these three days, we will develop an algorithm of interaction, which will contribute to a more productive cooperation between the departments, to the closer dialogue with civil society organizations and the population,” said Liliya Dulinets. She also noted that similar events will be held in the future.