KUALA LUMPUR: The United States is willing to assist Malaysia if the latter decides to go ahead and build a nuclear power plant, said US diplomat Laura E. Kennedy.
Kennedy, charge d’affaires at the Permanent Mission of the US to the International Organisations in Vienna, noted that her country had a long-standing nuclear power industry and expertise in the field.
“It is completely up to the government of Malaysia. But we’ll be happy to negotiate a cooperation agreement that permits civilian trade in nuclear-related materials,” Kennedy, who is on a two-day working visit to Malaysia, told the media here.
In July, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mah Siew Keong said the government would conduct a feasibility study on a proposal to build a nuclear power plant in the country. It was earlier reported that the government planned to build two nuclear power plants to meet rising energy demand, one by 2021 and the second a year later.
The envoy, who is in the country to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, said Malaysians should be aware that nuclear technology could be beneficial in fields, such as health and agriculture. Bernama