Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 18 February 2020, members of the leadership of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan held talks with the delegation of Hungary led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of this country, Péter Szijjártó.

The meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Hungary to the Republic of Uzbekistan Peter Santo.

Negotiations took place within the framework of the 5th meeting of the Uzbek-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the possibility of cooperation in order to implement promising projects in the fuel and energy complex of Uzbekistan.

As noted by the First Deputy Minister of Energy, the head of the Uzatom Agency, Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, the Ministry of Energy has positive experience in working with the Hungarian side in studying the experience of developing nuclear energy.

In particular, in November 2018, a delegation of the Uzatom Agency paid a working visit to Hungary, during which they met with members of the leadership of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Regulator, and studied the experience of building the Paks-2 NPP based on two power units with VVER-1200 reactors of Russian production.

According to statistics, the existing Paks NPP produces about 40% of the electricity in Hungary, the country that has the fastest growing economy among EU members. As noted during the visit, the implementation of the Paks-2 project is associated with an increasing demand for electricity in the country.

During the 2018 visit, the issues of financing and the legislative framework for the construction of nuclear energy facilities were studied. Also of great interest was the Hungarian experience in developing renewable energy sources, in particular solar and biomass-based.

At today’s talks, the Hungarian side again focused on nuclear energy issues, as well as natural gas supplies.

It was noted that Hungary, as a member of the Paris Climate Agreement, is committed to the view that without nuclear energy it is impossible to achieve the necessary indicators for reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

It was emphasized that the decision to build a nuclear power plant in Hungary was made taking into account the competitiveness of the economy, since nuclear energy has a more stable and competitive cost, which plays an important role for long-term planning of economic development.

In this regard, the Hungarian side indicated that the choice of Uzbekistan in favor of developing nuclear energy in its territory is absolutely correct.

Following the talks, the parties reached an agreement on the development of cooperation with the peaceful atomic energy sector in general, and the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, in particular.

The Hungarian side proposed to consider the direction of training, in the framework of scholarships for Uzbekistan, for specialists in nuclear energy, noting a good training program at the Budapest Technical University and the possibility of undergoing practical training at Paks NPP.

The issues of development of the regional gas market and further plans of Uzbekistan in this industry were also discussed.

The Ministry of Energy provided information on ongoing reforms in the energy and oil and gas sectors, projects for the production of high value-added products based on natural gas.

The Hungarian side was informed about the annual Power Uzbekistan 2020 exhibition and conference held in Tashkent in May and was invited to participate in this important event in the energy sector.