Bolivia's Hydrocarbons and Energy Ministry said Wednesday that the country had signed letters of cooperation with France's Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission.
The letters of intent cover nuclear technology. They also cover the lithium industry and alternative energy technologies, as well as other related industrial endeavors, Fox News reported.
The pacts were also signed by Bolivia's Energy Ministry and Mining and Metals Ministry, the government said.
The letters spell out intentions to establish a nuclear energy program in Bolivia and to work on “energy diversification.”
Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced recently that the country had ambitions to pursue a nuclear power facility in western Bolivia, specifying a call for a research reactor and a commercial power reactor targeted for the La Paz Province.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is on board. An IAEA representative visited Bolivia last week and confirmed the international watchdog would have a role in the country's nuclear development.
Bolivia, Fox News pointed out, has the world's largest lithium reserves with an estimated 100 million tons – a figure sharply challenged by the United States Geological Survey, which estimates Uyuni salt flats lithium reserves in Bolivia at 9 million tons.