Statement at the SIGNING CEREMONY
Design, Supply, Installation, Testing, and Commissioning of Digital I&C System of 3MW TRIGA Research Reactor
Prof. Sanowar Hossain, Chairman of BAEC, Dr. Won-Seok PARK, President of KAERI,
Distinguished participants from BAEC and KAERI Good morning, Good afternoon and 앗살라무 알레이쿰
It is my honour and pleasure to witness today’s signing ceremony for the upgrading project of Bangladesh’s TRIGA Research Reactor.
I would like to congratulate both BAEC and KAERI on your decision to enter into a partnership on the peaceful use of nuclear energy through this project. I feel sorry that this ceremony had to be done virtually for the corona situation and that I could not welcome my Korean colleagues to Dhaka. But I am happy and grateful that we are not losing time thanks to this virtual ceremony. It is also one way to defeat the virus and not succumbing to it.
I believe that today’s signing ceremony is very meaningful and special in various respects.
First of all, for me personally nuclear energy has been an area dear to my heart as I have been involved in nuclear related work in various capacities during my career. In my early career I was in charge of cooperation with other countries on the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the Foreign Ministry. At that time, I worked very closely with scientists and experts at KAERI and Ministry of Science and Technology and attended many bilateral meetings with other countries. Later I was also assigned to New York and Vienna from where I was continuously involved in nuclear related work.
When I was appointed as Ambassador to Bangladesh last year, I was very happy to learn that KAERI was working with the BAEC to participate in the TRIGA Research Reactor upgrade project. As you may remember Dr. Hossain that when I met you and your colleagues at your office in November last year, I made it clear that it was one of my priorities to pave the ground for peaceful nuclear cooperation between our two countries. And today we are taking a significant step towards this end.
Secondly, our cooperation on the TRIGA Research Reactor is opening a new chapter in the Korea-Bangladesh relationship as the two countries are moving towards diversifying the areas of cooperation. Expanding and diversifying the areas of cooperation beyond the traditional RMG sector has been a priority of our two governments for many years. These days we are witnessing more and more cooperation in infrastructure, health, education and ICT areas, and today we have added one more promising area of cooperation, the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Thirdly, I would like to stress that Korea is a natural and excellent partner for Bangladesh in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy. As you know, Korea has set an example to the international community in terms of the peaceful nuclear use from research to power generation and from nuclear non-proliferation to nuclear safety and security, being fully committed to the global NPT obligations. In terms of the total capacity of nuclear power generation, Korea ranks 6th in the world after US, France, China, Russia and Japan. The very fact that Bangladesh is also a country fully committed to the international NPT regime will enable our two countries to collaborate closely for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
I am confident that thanks to this TRIGA project, Korea and Bangladesh, KAERI and BAEC will find much more opportunities of cooperation in the future. The signing of an MOU between the two institutions will be the next step which I believe will further strengthen the cooperation. From the Embassy side, we will also expedite our discussions with the Bangladesh government for the conclusion of the bilateral Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation.
Needless to say, the successful implementation of this project will also be the key to the future of our cooperation in this field and I am confident that KAERI will deliver a quality work which will make Bangladesh fully satisfied.
Again I wish all of you a big success and best of luck in this new journey of our collaboration. The Embassy will do its best to support you for the successful implementation of this project.
Lastly, as both countries are still in the middle of strenuous fight against the pandemic, I wish that all of you and your colleagues and families stay safe and strong until we finally defeat the virus.
Thank you again and I wish to see you again soon. 오넥 돈노밧, 아바르 데카 허베
