Venezuela Continues Search For Nuclear Energy

 

Venezuela Continues Search For Nuclear Energy
President Hugo Chavez asks Argentina for agreement on energy
	Fernando Marino-Aguirre (kalonik)

Venezuela moved closer to its goal of obtaining nuclear power last week when President Hugo Chavez ratified in Rome the decision to enter an agreement of nuclear cooperation with Argentina.

Chavez has drawn suspicion from the international community for his aim to get nuclear power, though the president claims it will be for peaceful means.

Chavez said his intention is to provide to Venezuela with energy sources alternative to ones derived from petroleum, and not develop nuclear weapons.

The Argentine government expressed a will to cooperate with Chavez on the agreement.

Argentine company INVAP has entered agreements of nuclear cooperation with Egypt, Algeria, Australia and Peru, most important of them being the construction of a Replacement Research Reactor (RRR), a US$180 million multipurpose nuclear facility in Australia.

Venezuela is interested in a type of reactor known as CAREM, a model designed by INVAP based on passive safety systems, which is capable of electricity generation and other applications.

The U.S. government has expressed its concerns about Chavez's using the technology and equipment to develop nuclear weapons.

Chavez recently told a Brazilian newspaper his country will not have the capability to develop such weapons.

Some Argentineans are opposed to entering an agreement with Venezuela.

Argentina President Nestor Kirchner is one of the main supporters of Chavez in the region, along with Brazilian President Lula da Silva.