BUDAPEST (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2023) Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday that he had held a telephone conversation with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, during which the parties had agreed to accelerate investment in the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant (NPP).
"We agreed that nuclear energy is the energy of the future and it is good news for us that the Russian government also attaches great importance to the development of Paks. We agreed that we will accelerate investment wherever possible," the Hungarian top diplomat said on social media.
The construction of new units of the Paks NPP is of great importance for Hungary, Szijjarto said, adding that those countries producing most of the energy they needed were protected from the consequences of the energy crisis.
"For this reason, we, of course, will not support any proposal from Brussels that would make Hungarian-Russian cooperation in the nuclear field even a little difficult or even impossible," Szijjarto said.
Hungary's only nuclear power plant, Paks, generates about a third of all electricity in Hungary, with the share expected to increase after the planned commissioning of two new NPP's reactor units. The Hungarian leadership has repeatedly said that nuclear energy is a way to ensure the country's energy security.
The four units of the 500-megawatt Paks NPP were built between 1982 and 1987, and their 30-year operating lifespan was extended by 20 years between 2012 and 2017, to allow for their closure between 2032 and 2037.
In late 2014, Russia and Hungary signed an agreement on the construction of two additional advanced reactors. The parties agreed that Russia would allocate a 10 billion euro ($10.6 billion) loan to finance the construction of the units.
