The United States and Armenia signed an agreement to collaborate in civil nuclear power Monday.
Within the deal, it will allow up to $5 billion in U.S. exports to Armenia and an additional $4 billion in longer-term fuel and maintenance contracts, Vice President J.D. Vance said during the Monday press conference. The agreement is also expected to create more jobs in the U.S., he added.
“This is a classic win-win for both Armenia and the United States of America,” Vance said. “It means stronger energy security for my own country and I also think it means stronger energy security for Armenia.”
Vance and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the 123 Agreement, or an agreement that establishes the legal framework for peaceful civil nuclear cooperation with other countries.
The agreement also enables other countries to use U.S.-made nuclear technology for deployment in their respective countries.
“It [the agreement] means small modular reactors, American technologies will be coming to this country [Armenia],” Vance said. “It’s one of the few countries where we feel confident enough to invest at this level [and] to send this kind of technology.”
Armenia currently has one nuclear power plant, named the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. The Armenian plant only operates one reactor, Unit 2, which began operating in 1980. The sole reactor is a Russian-designed water-water energetic reactor (VVER) reactor that generates 416 megawatts of electricity.
Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Armenian nuclear plant were both shut down in 1989 after a massive earthquake. Unit 2 then was restarted in 1993, while Unit 1 remained shut down. Unit 1 is currently being decommissioned.