MOST VICE MINISTER TO MEET WITH DOE/NNSA ON NUCLEAR

UNCLAS HANOI 000411 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/NESS (DEBORAH RUDOLPH),EAP/K AND EAP/MLS DEPT OF ENERGY FOR NNSA/NA-21 (SARAH DICKERSON, KEN APT) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG TRGY KIPR KNNP KGIT VM SUBJECT: MOST VICE MINISTER TO MEET WITH DOE/NNSA ON NUCLEAR COOPERATION ISSUES REF: HANOI 395 ¶1. (SBU) Vice Minister of Science and Technology (VM) Tran Quoc Thang, who is traveling to Washington as part of the delegation of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, is seeking meetings with USG officials to discuss a range of issues. VM Thang will arrive in Washington in advance of DPM Khiem's DC program, which is scheduled for March 15-17. In addition to the meetings with USG officials, VM Thang also plans to hold discussions with the National Science Foundation and the Vietnam Education Foundation. While in the United States, VM Thang also plans to sign a letter of intent with the University of California, San Francisco that relates to the development of aquaculture vaccines, introduction of quality control measures for traditional medicine and cohort training. These arrangements are being handled separately. This cable covers only meeting requests with the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA). ¶2. (SBU) In discussions over the past days with MOST Department of International Relations officials, Embassy Hanoi has received various requests for assistance in helping communicate meetings requests of VM Thang. Ref A reports his desire to meet with OES officials to discuss the S&T Joint Committee, which is scheduled to meet later this year in Washington. ¶4. (SBU) In addition, MOST wishes to hold separate meetings with the appropriate DOE/NNSA staff on the following issues: (1) Two trilateral contracts relating to the provision of LEU fuel units and the conversion of the Dalat nuclear research reactor to use LEU fuel. (Note: MOST is dropping its proposal to create signed minute of the upcoming March 12 meeting. Rather, VM Thang now intends to present to DOE a response letter to DOE/NNSA Assistant Administrator Andrew Bieniawski's letter dated November 30, 2006, which will outline MOST's intention to sign the contracts in April. End Note.); (2) The associated USD 500,000 grant for joint nuclear science research via the IAEA; and, (3) The proposed "Arrangement Between the Department of Energy and the Ministry of Science and Technology for Information Exchange and Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy." (Note: MOST reports it is ready to sign the "Arrangement" document regarding Sister Labs, although it understands that the USG is not yet at that stage. MOST suggests that the "Arrangement" could be signed during President Nguyen Minh Triet's visit to the U.S. later this year. End Note.) ¶4. (SBU) Post has been in direct communication with relevant parties in MOST and DOE/NNSA and strongly supports these important bilateral S&T initiatives. MARINE