Vietnam seeks Russia’s help for its nuclear ambition. Will sanctions stall it?

The Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom) and a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which is leading the development of the MBIR International Research Centre, announced on Tuesday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on nuclear research and explore Vinatom’s potential membership in the centre’s international consortium.

The centre will be based at a research reactor currently under construction in the city of Dimitrovgrad, Russia, which will allow scientists to study nuclear fuels, materials and reactor safety. The memorandum grants Vietnamese specialists access to the infrastructure of the MBIR’s fast-neutron reactor.