Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the goal of the power plant is to develop nuclear energy for "peaceful purposes,"
– Edited by April Murelio –
According to a VOA report, Russia has agreed to help Venezuela draw up plans to build a nuclear power plant. Atomic energy was one of many areas of cooperation discussed as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the South American country.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the goal of the power plant is to develop nuclear energy for "peaceful purposes," and not to develop a bomb. The two leaders also signed agreements aimed at deepening their countries' financial and military ties. They formalized an agreement to establish a joint venture for oil and gas exploration in eastern Venezuela.
Mr. Putin finished his trip to Venezuela Friday by meeting with both Bolivian President Evo Morales and President Chavez in Caracas. Mr. Chavez has forged close ties with Russia in recent years and has spent more than $4 billion on Russian-made weapons. Venezuela relies on China and Russia as its main military suppliers.
The United States has previously cautioned Venezuela against continuing its arms buildup, warning its actions could endanger regional stability.
Russia is also building a nuclear power plant in Iran. Russia will strive to control a quarter of the global nuclear power market and will boost nuclear energy use at home, starting with a $6 billion investment this year, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said recently.
Putin said Russia should use its competitive advantage to meet a renaissance in global demand for nuclear energy, which has regained popularity worldwide.
"We can afford to control no less than 25 percent of the global market for construction and servicing nuclear plants," said Putin. Putin was chairing a government meeting at the Volgodonsk nuclear power plant, the first such plant built in Russia since the Chernobyl disaster. "We need to strengthen our position in the global competition," he said. Russia controls about 20 percent of the market now.
Russia is competing against multinationals from the United States and France in the nuclear sector but is eyeing an alliance with Germany's Siemens to conquer back some of its traditional markets in eastern Europe and Asia.
Putin said Russia would launch the nuclear reactor that it is building at Iran's Bushehr atomic power plant in mid-2010 and would also sign contracts to build reactors in China.