US-Asean Business Council Urges Congress To Support Nuclear Accord With Vietnam

Manik Mehta WASHINGTON, May 10 (Bernama) -- The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), the leading advocacy organisation of U.S. corporations that operate within, or have business interests in, the member states of the ASEAN, has called on the U.S. Congress to support the nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Vietnam which was submitted to the body two days ago. With the passage of the agreement through Congress, Vietnam would become the first country in the ASEAN group to operate a nuclear power plant. "One of the key limiting factors for growing the economies of Southeast Asia is access to safe, reliable sources of power," observed Marc Mealy, the USABC Vice President (Policy), who knows Malaysia and other ASEAN countries very intimately. "By substantially expanding its nuclear capability, Vietnam can address this need by further diversifying its sources of energy in an environmentally sustainable way which also happens to have the potential to support U.S. jobs and exports," Mealy added. The USABC claims that its members, on a global basis, generate over US$6 trillion in revenue and provide jobs to more than 13 million people. The USABC's members include some of the biggest U.S. corporations that conduct business in the ASEAN region, ranging from newcomers to the region to old, established companies that have been operating in Southeast Asia for more than 100 years. The USABC maintains offices in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta, Manila and Singapore, besides its headquarters in Washington and an office in New York. The USABC pointed out that the nuclear energy agreement with Vietnam would be a substantive follow-up to the Comprehensive Partnership signed by U.S. President Obama and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang during the latter's visit to the United States in October 2013. Citing figures provided by the Nuclear Energy Institute, the USABC said that the agreement with Vietnam could generate additional U.S. exports worth between US$10 and 20 billion, creating thousands of new American jobs. Vietnam is emerging as one of the key partners of the United States in the crucial ASEAN region; the USABC said that expanding the partnership with Vietnam, including the peaceful use of nuclear energy, would result in tangible economic and security benefits. The U.S. Congress started Thursday to review the civilian nuclear agreement with Vietnam; supporters of the deal have been underscoring its economic significance, pointing out that it would boost exports worth billions of dollars, create jobs and also increase U.S. influence in a region that is viewed as a promising collective market of roughly 600 million people. The agreement was sent to Congress on Feb 24 this year for further approval after President Obama gave his nod to it. Congress is required to complete its review within 90 days. If it does not raise any objections, the deal would become a law. After its passage in Congress, the United States will transfer reactors and know-how to Vietnam which has pledged to abide by U.S. nuclear non-proliferation requirements, and not enrich its uranium resources. The nuclear energy agreement was signed by Secretary of State John Kerry and Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is also that country’s foreign minister, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit held in Brunei last October. According to U.S. sources, Vietnam's nuclear energy market is rated as the second largest in East Asia, after China, and is expected to grow to US$50 billion by 2030, accounting for over 10 percent of the domestic electricity consumption demand. --BERNAMA