Seoul's deputy foreign minister Lee Yong-joon will meet with Jordanian officials in a three-day visit to the country starting on Saturday to discuss the construction project
- Edited by April Murelio - According to a report by Xinhua, South Korea and Jordan will discuss Jordan's nuclear power plant construction deal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. Seoul's deputy foreign minister Lee Yong-joon will meet with Jordanian officials in a three-day visit to the country starting on Saturday to discuss the construction project, the ministry said.
Jordan in December last year selected South Korea as a proffered bidder for the research reactor it plans to buy, and the two sides will discuss follow-up measures on the deal, according to the ministry.
The announcement comes after a major nuclear technology export deal the South Korean government signed last week with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The country is seeking to strike a similar deal with Turkey, according to local media.
Last week Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said that the government will announce a comprehensive plan on promoting exports of nuclear reactors and measures to boost related industries next month.
Choi told reporters that President Lee Myung-bak will chair a meeting of government officials and industry executives to discuss the issue.
"The government will make all-out efforts to increase exports of nuclear reactors next year," Choi said at a press conference in Gwacheon.
His comment came after a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp. won a landmark $20 billion deal on Sunday to build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates by 2020.
Officials said it would generate an additional $20 billion in contracts for operation and maintenance over 60 years. The deal made Korea the world's sixth country to export commercial nuclear plants after the United States, France, Russia, Canada and Japan. "The deal has opened a renaissance of Korea's nuclear reactor (industry)," he said. It has showed the world of the country's nuclear power capabilities and will help the country enter other markets including Turkey and Jordan, he added.
The ministry is also in talks with the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety to designate Dec. 17 as the nation's nuclear day.
The politician-turned-bureaucrat also vowed to support schools and universities to nurture nuclear engineers for the future and ask related companies such as KEPCO and K-Water to increase the portion of those engineers.
Nuclear reactors are more realistic alternatives for reducing carbon emissions than other renewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar power, he said, adding that it is almost impossible to curb the country's carbon emissions while keeping its economic growth.