A visiting delegation from the Ministry of Construction led by Deputy Minister Phạm Minh Hà held a meeting with the French Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR) on September 15 (local time). Vietnamese Ambassador to France Đinh Toàn Thắng and ASNR Commissioner Stéphanie Guenot-Bresson, Deputy General Director Julien Collet, International Cooperation Officer Marilyn Tombette, and leaders of several Vietnamese construction management, training, and research units attended the meeting.
Deputy Minister of Construction Pham Minh Ha, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang and Ms. Stéphanie Guenot Bresson, member of the ASNR Executive Board, agreed to promote cooperation between the two sides.
Deputy Minister Hà expressed interest in France’s processes for building, operating, and licensing nuclear power plants. In response, Ms. Stéphanie introduced an overview of the current status of nuclear energy application in France, including: 57 PWR nuclear reactors in operation; 14 facilities in the fuel cycle; 15 waste storage and treatment facilities; 36 nuclear and industrial research facilities; 16 nuclear facilities in the process of dismantling and more than 6,000 industrial facilities and 45,000 medical facilities with irradiation applications.
ASNR also introduced safety standards and technical guidelines applied to nuclear power plant construction. They also explained the three stages of construction approval. First, according to the President's directive, the operating unit EDF is assigned to implement the project. Next, EDF submits the preliminary design to the competent ministerial authority after consulting ASNR's expertise. Based on the assessment, the ministerial authority will decide to allow the construction of the nuclear power plant.
To ensure safety, ASNR experts accompany and supervise the entire construction process. Before the plant goes into operation and fuel rod loading, ASNR conducts a safety assessment; the operator must demonstrate the ability to operate safely through test models under ASNR supervision.
An operating license is granted only when all requirements are fully met. During operation, ASNR periodically conducts inspections and re-evaluates the safety level of the nuclear facility every ten years and will renew the license if the requirements are met.
The two sides agreed to enhance exchanges and realize bilateral cooperation.
Ha thanked ASNR for its detailed information and called for support in training and capacity building for Vietnamese officials.
ASNR pledged to share technical guidelines and safety standards in multiple languages for researching, and also said that its training academy was ready to provide training for Vietnamese specialists.
Concluding the meeting, Hà expressed Việt Nam's appreciation for ASNR’s openness and expressed hope for future cooperation.