S. Korea, UAE hold high-level talks on forming joint bidding team for nuclear energy projects

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held a high-level meeting on Wednesday and agreed to establish a joint bidding team for nuclear energy projects in third-party countries, the foreign ministry said.

The agreement was reached in the fourth session of their high-level consultation on nuclear energy, led by Seoul's Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon and Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the UAE minister of energy and industry, held through video links, according to the ministry.

Both sides also agreed to conduct joint research on aging of concrete structures, taking into consideration the UAE's climate conditions, and begin separate performance analysis research on accident tolerant fuel (ATF), which prevents hydrogen from exploding in a nuclear accident.

In addition, the two sides consulted on conducting a joint survey on small module reactors (SMR) and also agreed to expand cooperation in nuclear security training.

The discussion came after South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited the UAE earlier this month and agreed to boost their special strategic partnership.

In 2009, a KEPCO-led consortium won a US$20 billion contract to build four nuclear reactors in Barakah, 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, marking South Korea's first export of its homegrown commercial atomic power plant.

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