Atom and speech: Russia wants to resume cooperation with Argentina in nuclear energy
Rosatom expects to resume cooperation with Argentina in the field of peaceful nuclear energy, despite the pause in the implementation of joint projects. Alexey Likhachev, the head of the state corporation, told Izvestia about this at the World Atomic Days international forum in Turkey. The event, organized with the support of the BRICS Atomic Energy Platform, gathered hundreds of delegates from all over the world. Russia continues to expand nuclear cooperation not only with the countries of the association, strengthening its position in the global low-carbon energy market. Where prospects for new projects are opening up and how the Russian Federation retains its leadership in the industry — in the Izvestia report.
International Atomic Forum in Turkey
The World Atomic Days (WAD) International Business Forum was held in Antalya for the first time on November 12-13. More than 700 delegates from over 50 countries came to discuss the role of the peaceful atom in the modern world and the achievement of the goal of tripling global nuclear power plant capacity by 2050.
Turkey's choice is not accidental: the UN COP31 Climate Conference is being held in Antalya from November 9 to November 20, 2026. These days, ministers, corporate heads, investors and experts from all over the world gathered in the city. Holding the atomic forum at the same time as the climate summit allows its organizer, Rosatom, to directly include the topic of peaceful atom in the global discussion on the green transition. Many participants attended both events. Among them is the head of the state corporation Alexey Likhachev.
Turkey remains one of Rosatom's main foreign sites: here the state corporation is building the first Akkuyu nuclear power plant in the country's history. Ankara maintains active business and political ties with Russia, the countries of the Global South and Western states, including providing Istanbul as a platform for Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. This openness makes Turkey a convenient hub for international business dialogue in a difficult geopolitical environment.
The construction of the Akkuyu NPP opens the way for Turkey to join the club of countries with their own nuclear power industry. The project brought local businesses $14 billion in localized contracts and created more than 34,000 jobs at the peak of construction. Four power units with a total capacity of 4.8 thousand. The MW will generate about 35 billion kWh of electricity per year. This is enough to cover a tenth of the needs of the whole of Turkey.
The Akkuyu project has become one of the main focuses of the forum's exhibition. The organizers have placed a stand with a virtual tour of the future station in the exhibition. Turkish engineers who had been trained in Russia conducted guided tours and showed the guests the design of the reactor hall and the block control room of the first power unit.
Rosatom expects to return to projects in Argentina
Russia intends not only to develop existing foreign projects, but also to resume cooperation where it was previously suspended. Argentina remains one of these destinations.
— There is a potential to increase the share of generation in the Argentine energy system from nuclear facilities. And we would see a platform for work here. We conducted such negotiations, and the People's Republic of China did. Unfortunately, this work has been put on hold at least for the time being. But we would not like to throw it in the trash," Alexey Likhachev told Izvestia exclusively.
The development of peaceful atom is beneficial to both Argentina and Russia. At the same time, Buenos Aires already has extensive experience in building reactors, including small ones, the head of the state corporation noted.
The history of Russian-Argentine cooperation in the nuclear energy sector dates back to 2014-2018, when Moscow and Buenos Aires signed a package of agreements on the construction of nuclear power plants using Russian technologies. In 2019, the parties even started selecting a site for the future station. However, in 2020, a severe economic crisis, default and a sharp devaluation of the peso forced the Argentine authorities to freeze major infrastructure spending and put negotiations on pause.
The situation became more complicated after December 2023, when Argentine President Javier Miley, who came to power, embarked on a policy of close rapprochement with Washington. In July 2026, Dmitry Feoktistov, the Russian ambassador to Buenos Aires, confirmed to Izvestia that the countries had curtailed joint work in the nuclear industry, although the 2018 framework agreement formally remains in force.
Who is Russia cooperating with in the field of peaceful atom
Russia is a recognized world leader in the export of nuclear technologies, the construction of nuclear power plants abroad and uranium enrichment. The Russian Federation is building 28 power units in nine countries and is negotiating with 15 more states.
One of Russia's main competitors in this market is the United States, which actively uses political tools to promote its technologies. Washington is joining forces with Japan and South Korea to promote small modular reactors (MMRs) in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the Americans are expanding their own fuel base. In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy allocated $2.7 billion to develop uranium enrichment facilities, and in June, the European consortium Urenco announced a multibillion-dollar investment that will increase the capacity of its plant in the United States by almost half.
Despite the efforts of competitors, Russia retains its leadership position. It is impossible to isolate Russia from the global nuclear energy industry, Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, told Izvestia.
— It is obvious that we are living in a difficult period from a geopolitical point of view, and now there are certain trends towards regionalization. However, I hope that the current geopolitical situation is temporary and eventually everything will return to normal," the head of the organization noted.
According to her, in order to triple the world's nuclear energy capacity by 2050, it will be necessary to triple the supply of nuclear fuel and expand all links of production chains.
— Therefore, I believe that we will need all participants of the global market. And this, of course, includes some small modular reactor projects that are already being implemented in Russia and China, as well as new developments emerging in other countries around the world. Rosatom is already playing and will continue to play a very important role in the global nuclear industry," said Bilbao y Leon.
The geography of Rosatom's foreign projects covers Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and other countries. One of the last agreements was signed in mid-October.: Rosatom and the Indonesian company PT Pembangkit Listrik Nuklir have agreed to supply electricity from two floating nuclear power units with a total capacity of 200 MW. This is the world's first export project using floating nuclear power plants.
The wide geography of cooperation was reflected by the composition of the participants of the World Atomic Days. The business program was attended by Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, representatives of nuclear companies from Vietnam, Hungary and Mongolia, as well as experts from Bahrain, Brazil and other countries. Such a representative composition of participants refutes the theses of the Western media about the global isolation of Russia.
The Russian Federation continues to develop nuclear projects even in the most difficult geopolitical conditions. For example, 180 Russian specialists are currently working at the Bushehr NPP site in Iran, and the corporation plans to increase their number to 300 in the near future. Alexey Likhachev said this in response to a question from a Izvestia journalist about the situation at the station.
The head of Rosatom stressed that he did not see any risks of a slowdown in construction, despite the tension in the region. In addition, the state corporation has agreed with Tehran on a new site for large nuclear power plants and concluded agreements on small power units. Currently, specialists are conducting organizational and project training in these areas.
Cooperation with BRICS and Rosatom Youth
One of the final events was the BRICS conference, which turned out to be closed to journalists. Elzi Pooley, the chief Coordinator of the Atomic Energy Platform of the association, told Izvestia about the current projects of the organization.
— As the BRICS Nuclear Energy Platform, we are primarily focused on the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the energy sector, medicine and agriculture. The platform unites about eight countries and 14 companies," said Poulet.
According to her, the platform considers opportunities for collaboration: developing competencies, expanding access to technology, as well as interacting with financial institutions in order to finance projects. Poulet stressed that young people are actively involved in the work of the platform. With her help, the platform has completed two studies on financing tools and sustainable supply chains. Both reports were presented at that very private conference.
At the same time, the first day of the event, November 12, was entirely devoted to the youth part. Diana Gamazova, a member and mentor of the International Youth Advisory Board of Impact Team 2050, who attended such an event for the first time, told Izvestia her impressions of him.
— There were definitely 500-700 young people. The most vivid impression was the opening session, where we were greeted and thanked for our participation by such leaders as Bilbao y Leon herself, Alexey Likhachev, Elsie Pooley, and Maxim Reshetnikov, the head of the Ministry of Energy. It was very nice that such serious people really appreciate young people," she shared.
Thus, Russia, represented by Rosatom, is betting on the future not only in terms of nuclear technology, but also people. However, competition in the global nuclear market is not weakening, and the Russian industry will have to meet many challenges at the expense of a new generation of specialists.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
