SAN FRANCISCO: The United States on Thursday (Nov 16) signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the Philippines, clearing a path for US investment to jump-start atomic power in a country racing to expand its electricity supply.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has become a close US ally in his more than one year in power, was on hand when his energy secretary signed the pact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco.
“We see nuclear energy becoming a part of the Philippine energy mix by 2032 and we will be more than happy to pursue this path with the United States as one of our partners,” Marcos said.
“Nuclear energy is one area where we can show that the Philippines-US alliance and partnership truly works for our peoples, our economies and the environment,” he added.
Marcos said that he was fulfilling an earlier pledge to build an “affordable, reliable and sustainable energy supply for the entire country in order to meet (its) growing energy demands”.
The deal signed with Blinken commits the Philippines to safeguards against the use of transferred nuclear material to produce nuclear weapons.
Known as 123 agreements after their section in the US Atomic Energy Act, the pacts are critical for investment by US nuclear companies, which are wary of running afoul of laws related to proliferation.
Source: CNA
