Nuclear agreement with Vietnam will create more jobs for USA

The signing ceremony of Vietnam-USA cooperation agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy (Agreement 123).

Mr. Gary Wolski, vice president of   Curtiss-Wright’s Nuclear Division said Vietnam's economy in recent years has seen steady growth of 5-6% per year.

The country plans to build up to 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2030 with the first reactors to put into operation in the next decade.

According to Wolski, Curtiss-Wright is not alone in seeing opportunity in Vietnam’s development cooporation of nuclear energy.

This summer, Westinghouse Co. is opening an office in Hanoi to take advantage of potential business opportunities.

David Durham, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GHE), who recently returned from a business trip to Vietnam said “the country seems to be booming. There’s massive construction going on everywhere. An emerging nation is building new airports, highways, bridges, high-rise office buildings and factories. This boom and  challenge of climate change together mean there is a great demand for electricity from clean energy sources (free of carbon), with the World Nuclear Association (WNA) estimating annual electricity demand growth at between 10% and 15% in coming years, Mr. Durham noted.

Thus, according to David Durham, "If there is no agreement, we can not participate in the game but can look from outside only. If the agreement comes too late, when the competition ended, it is also no longer valid.”

According to the US Department of Commerce, the Obama administration last month signed a new agreement called Agreement 123 with Vietnam and sent it to the Congress for review. American suppliers hope to benefit as soon as the agreement goes into effect, with the potential to create large numbers of US jobs.

According to the US Department of Commerce, Nuclear Cooperation Agreement 123 that the administration of President Barack Obama signed with Vietnam will open market of Vietnam for US companies, bring for US export about US$ 10-20 billion and create more than 50,000 new jobs for American workers with the good wages.

On May 8, US State Department informed: President Obama has submitted to the Congress review of the cooperation agreement between governments of US and Vietnam on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, called as 123 Agreement.

The agreement will go into effect after 90 days of continuous session, unless the Congress passes a resolution of disapproval.
With Congress passage and taking effect, the 123 Agreement would create a legal framework for U.S. companies to participate in the civil nuclear cooperation with Vietnam in accordance with Clauses of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that have been agreed by two sides.

On June 6, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger and Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel submitted to the Low House a resolution for calling upon to support the passage of a nuclear cooperation agreement with Vietnam.

At the same day, Senator Harry Reid also presented to the Senate a similar resolution for supporting 123 agreement with Vietnam.

Vietnamenergy.vn