SOUTH AFRICA AND RUSSIA SIGN SCIENTIFIC AND

UNCLAS PRETORIA 005371 SIPDIS STATE FOR NP/NE/BURKART/KRASS/COMELLA DOE FOR NE-2.4/LMCDANIEL, NNSA/NA-243/MMANNING E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG TRGY KNNP KSCA SF SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA AND RUSSIA SIGN SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR ENERGY (U) On November 20, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) signed an agreement with Russian Federation counterparts to broaden and strengthen scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries under the umbrella of their International Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC). According to DME's press statement, the agreement is designed to enable cooperation in research and development in the field of nuclear power engineering, use of atomic energy for electricity generation, heating and desalination, radioactive waste management, nuclear safety, radiation protection and radiological environmental protection, nuclear radiation safety regulation, and the decommissioning and decontamination of nuclear facilities. The Russian Federation is a key supplier of low enriched uranium for Eskom's nuclear power station at Koeberg. FRAZER