Viet Nam has used nuclear energy technology and atomic energy in medical treatment, agriculture, industry and environmental activities for decades, but the country's nuclear technology still needs to take advantage of its development potential.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Viet Thanh gave the keynote speech at the National Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology in Da Nang on Wednesday.

He stressed that Viet Nam had made plans to improve human resources, safety, and radioactive isotopes and applications to prepare for the building of the country's first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan.

"We want to gain from the experience of international and domestic experts, scientists, nuclear energy researchers and successful uses of radioactive technology at this conference to help build the country's nuclear programme for peace," he said.

"Viet Nam has sketched out plans for its nuclear technology development till 2030 with an aim of boosting the use of nuclear energy in industry, products, and services to others in the region," he said.

Thanh added that Viet Nam had inked Memorandums of Understandings to co-operate on nuclear energy development and human resource training with the US and Russia.

Vice chairman of the city's People Committee, Vo Duy Khuong said the city would co-operate with the Viet Nam Nuclear Energy Institute to build a Nuclear Medicine Centre for the central and Central Highlands region with total investment of US$12 million.

The biannual conference drew 300 deputies from Russia, Japan, the US, UK, France, South Korea, Sweden, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Czech and Viet Nam. There were 216 reports presented on new research and achievements in nuclear power and radioactive applications.

Later on this week, the conference will host a discussion, Safety in Nuclear Power: Science, Technology, Culture and the Viet Nam case, with international scientists and organise various sub-meetings on the use of nuclear energy in cancer diagnosis and treatment, and rice seed production.

In Viet Nam, medical treatment and food preservation industries are the biggest users of atomic energy. The country ranks second in the world in the use of atomic energy to preserve food – about 66,000 tonnes of foodstuffs and post-harvest products.

The conference closes today.    

Source: vietnamnet.vn