A November pact with Russia that first raised the possibility of nuclear energy in Cambodia is still being quietly pursued.

Next week will see the second meeting of a Ministry of Interior working group dedicated to coordinating cooperation with the Vladimir Putin-led government in the realm of nuclear applications, ministry officials said yesterday.

“There will be some follow up and discussion on how to implement the memoranda that were [finalised] in May,” said Environment Ministry spokesman Sok Kean.

On May 17, Cambodian officials officially signed off on eight agreements with their Russian counterparts during an ASEAN-Russia summit, including two memoranda related to nuclear energy.

In November, Sergei Kirienko, head of the Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom, suggested that Cambodia establish a research reactor and science centre to pursue its goal of constructing a nuclear power station.

Russian Embassy representatives yesterday said the two countries plan to continue discussing ways to implement the memoranda and cooperate in the field of nuclear energy.

“Right now, they are working on the implementation of these two memoranda. The first one was between Rosatom and the National Council of Sustainable Development, and the second for the establishment of an information centre for nuclear energy,” said embassy press attaché Karina Orus-Ool.