Alexander Merten, General Representative of Rosatom in Ukraine: Rosatom has never stopped supplying nuclear fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants

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Relations between Russia and Ukraine are aggravated today, which may cast doubt on the implementation of many projects in the economic sphere, including in the nuclear sector. However, in an interview with UNIAN, Alexander Merten, General Representative of Rosatom in Eastern Europe, said that political disagreements would not affect the company's activities in Ukraine. Rosatom is ready to fulfill all previously undertaken obligations to Ukrainian partners.

General Representative of Rosatom in Ukraine Alexander Merten

Alexander Alexandrovich, information has appeared in the media that Russia will not fulfill its obligations to supply nuclear fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Please comment on this situation.

This information is completely untrue. Despite political or other disagreements, Rosatom Corporation and all the enterprises that make up it have always ensured the fulfillment of the obligations assumed and the terms of the signed agreements. This principle has been and remains fundamental in the activities of Rosatom. We have never stopped our cooperation and interaction with Ukrainian partners – NNEGC Energoatom, the State Concern Nuclear Fuel and other enterprises. We strictly fulfill all our obligations on the supply of nuclear fuel, equipment, materials, work and services at Ukrainian NPPs according to the schedule.

- But there was information that Russia had imposed a ban on the supply of nuclear fuel to Ukraine.

There was a ban not on deliveries, but on the transit of nuclear fuel through the territory of Ukraine to other countries. And this order was issued not by the Russian side, but by the Ukrainian side. At the beginning of February, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we received a notification from the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine on the suspension of the transportation of nuclear materials through the territory of Ukraine and the introduction of a temporary ban on this type of transportation. I am sure that with the normalization of the situation on the territory of Ukraine, the SINR of Ukraine will remove all the imposed restrictions.

It is precisely on the basis of all this that Rosatom, represented by its fuel holding JSC TVEL, began to consider alternative ways of supplying nuclear fuel to our partners. So the reports in some media about the alleged Russian ban on the supply of fuel for nuclear power plants in Ukraine not only do not correspond to reality, but are also provocative, which, in my opinion, is unacceptable at the moment.

- And what is the current situation with fuel supply to Ukrainian nuclear power plants?

Ukrainian nuclear power plants are provided with fresh nuclear fuel according to the approved schedule, without failures. By the way, this is also stated in the statement of our partner, NNEGC Energoatom, which was posted by them today. The situation is absolutely normal. Rosatom as a whole and TVEL in particular have not given and are not going to give any reason to doubt that all the undertaken obligations will be fulfilled accurately and on time. Ukrainian stations have been uninterruptedly supplied with nuclear fuel for more than 30 years, and during this time there have never been any failures.

- How do you see the future presence of Rosatom in Ukraine?

The Corporation has worked and will continue its activities in Ukraine. Together with Ukrainian partners, we are implementing important large-scale projects. We are talking about the construction of a plant for the production of nuclear fuel in Ukraine, the completion of the third and fourth power unit Khmelnytsky NPP, cooperation in power engineering. By the way, Rosatom won the tender for the completion of X-3 / X-4 back in 2008, when Yulia Tymoshenko was the Prime Minister of Ukraine. We continue to purchase Ukrainian uranium, which is further used, among other things, for the production of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The representative office of Rosatom, which is the regional Eastern European office of the corporation, continues to operate in Ukraine, which once again emphasizes the huge amount of our joint work. I want to emphasize once again: we are not engaged in politics, we are engaged in business - mutually beneficial and mutually beneficial. And we hope that in the near future the passions on the territory of Ukraine will subside and the situation will stabilize. We are interested in a stable economic situation in Ukraine.

"Outpost of Rosatom"

The industry has long been on the buzz: "efficiency", " production system' and 'single team'. Also, new markets. It seems we haven't forgotten anything. However, values ​​are values, but if they are not followed by each division, each enterprise and each individual employee, they will fade, lose their meaning and generally fade into the shadows. About how to be a single team and fight for every contract, even if it is not in the millions; Alexander Merten, President of Rusatom International Network, told us about how to save on business trips and conduct negotiations efficiently via video link.

Today, Rosatom's international network consists of 11 regional offices. Is the web spread? Is it already an existing business network that works in the interests of all enterprises in the industry?

One of our main tasks is to get direct access to information in countries that are commercially interesting for our industry. Therefore, it is the physical presence in all these regions that is important for us. Today, there are 11 centers of the international network of Rosatom: they are located in North and South America, in southern Africa, in the Middle East, in Europe, and so on. De jure, all regional centers managed by PI Rusatom - International Network (RMS) are registered as our subsidiaries, and this year we are completing their actual opening with offices, employees and infrastructure.

We provide information about international markets the entire industry, divisions and directly the state corporation, in all areas of interest to Rosatom. We have several industry-wide competencies, such as industry-wide marketing. We also promote any products and services that Rosatom companies and enterprises produce and that can be sold on international markets. We support such activities of our divisions as: design and construction of nuclear power plants, their fuel supply, service, supply of equipment for thermal power plants and petrochemicals, promote the development of our nuclear medicine and support sales of isotope products. In short, we work for the entire industry.

Therefore, the KPI indicators of RMC employees take into account the total portfolio of foreign orders, the total revenue in foreign markets, as well as the total portfolio of Rosatom orders for new products. As we know, Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko recently outlined three vectors for the development of the industry: international markets, new products, and prime cost. Here are the first two vectors - this is our specialization, here we must actively help develop our divisions.

- Do you promote the products offered by the divisions, or act in part as a customer?

We depend on the divisions in terms of the availability of the product and its cost, but, in turn, we form a task for the divisions, informing which product is in demand on foreign markets today. We provide benchmarks for competitive offers. And since our domestic market sank for well-known reasons, then, as Serey Vladilenovich said, we need to reorient ourselves to international markets. Today, the share of foreign exchange earnings in the state corporation's overall balance is almost 50%, and our main goal is to strengthen and strengthen Rosatom's position in international markets. In the context of the devaluation of the ruble, every dollar received abroad is important for us. That is why the leadership of Rosatom considers it necessary to diversify products and services supplied for export, not being limited to the traditional product line only at large nuclear power plants. After all, not all countries have the money to build nuclear power plants. Today, we are somewhat limited in our ability to provide state funding for our foreign construction projects, although they have an unconditional effect on the Russian economy. After all, a loan allocated to another country for the design and construction of stations using our technologies is returned to us in the form of an order and payment for our work.

- What other tasks are performed by the regional RMC centers?

In addition to cross-industry international marketing and promotion of products and services of Rosatom enterprises, we are engaged in all foreign PR, participating in exhibitions, seminars, as well as in covering the industry in local media. We carry out work on foreign PR projects, closely interacting with the Department of Communications of Rosatom, as well as with divisions, based on their tasks in specific regions.

Our main goal is business interests! As Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko says, we are not involved in politics, two things are important to us: the safety of our technologies and mutual benefit in terms of interaction with our foreign clients and partners. They must understand that they are buying a quality product at a good price, and it is important for us that we deliver a quality product and receive foreign exchange earnings. And the well-deserved reputation of Rosatom as a responsible and reliable partner is very important for us, just as important for our customers and partners. We can (and do) many projects in partnership with our foreign colleagues. We can build the same floating nuclear power plants, for example, in partnership with foreign shipbuilding companies. And in this regard, the RMC is a kind of "window" for communication with foreign partners in the interests of Rosatom.

It turns out that any industry enterprise that has a promising export project can offer you to implement it?

Moreover, since our management company, RMC, is funded by our parent company, Atomenergoprom, in a targeted manner, before receiving funds to promote products and services of industry enterprises, we must prepare a program of work for RMC, which includes projects proposed, among others, and divisions. This program of activities of RMS and our DCs is being coordinated with the divisions before being approved by the leadership of Rosatom. We calculate how much money we need to promote these projects, and after that we are allocated funds for the implementation of the program. Then this money goes to our regional centers, which provide necessary actions to promote products and services of enterprises that are part of the Rosatom State Corporation.

Another of our competences is the coordination of the activities of industry companies and enterprises in international markets. We are an independent channel of information for the management of Rosatom regarding the work of our enterprises in international markets. And if somewhere you need to intervene and correct their work on the part of the managing organization, we ask you to do it. For example, a tender has been announced abroad for the supply of a certain product that is produced by several of our enterprises. Often there were situations when several of our companies tried to enter the tender on their own, creating difficulties for each other, instead of organizing a consortium, supplementing each other with competencies and coming up with a common proposal. After all, in the end, the proceeds still flow to one final shareholder - AEPC / Rosatom. Therefore, we are engaged in coordination, helping colleagues to negotiate and build “horizontal interaction”.

Many companies that are part of the structure of Rosatom have their own representative offices abroad. Is there any duplication of functions between them and the RMC? For example, the same Techsnabexport, which has its offices in various countries. How is the interaction between representations abroad going?

Historically, Techsnabexport (international name TENEX) is actually an international trading house in the field of enrichment services. They have a built-in structure, and there is no point in breaking it, especially when it is connected with existing contracts. They effectively perform their functions and tasks. It's their business and we don't get into it. After all, we do not conclude contracts, but only facilitate their conclusion. But in those territories where TENEX does not have representative offices, in the same Latin America, we are ready to help establish contacts and find partners. And we are already doing this in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the back-end area for Techsnabexport, as an integrator company, is a new task. Therefore, in this area, we work with them all over the world and help even where they have their own offices. We do not interfere with each other, but on the contrary, we supplement their competencies with our own. In addition, we cooperate with individual subsidiaries (for example, in South Korea) of Techsnabexport, where they perform the functions of our country office at the respective regional center.

I would say that our main task is to create synergy. RMC has regional expertise, as our offices employ citizens of the countries where the regional centers are located. Knowledge of specific markets and companies operating in these markets. The divisions have product expertise, they know all the performance characteristics and cost of the product. It is at the intersection of these competencies that synergy arises. We know the local market, they know what they are selling. By uniting in these issues, we achieve success. And we already have more than one example of such successful interaction both in the past and this year.

What other indicators are used to evaluate the success of the RMS? Are there any other informal criteria besides signed contracts and foreign earnings?

Cost reduction. Cost reduction is a vector that is important for the entire industry. Formally, of course, this is not our direct task. Reducing the cost of production is primarily the task of the divisions. But we are also working in this direction, because the cost is not only production. We reduce the price in the cost of export products by reducing operating costs. For example, the expenses for business trips of employees of divisions are included as a result in the price of goods.

How can we help reduce it? First, with the opening of our regional centers, many divisions have closed their representative offices and branches abroad (this work is still ongoing), as we provide them with the full range of services that their representative offices provided. Next: business trips. Why fly to preliminary meetings, if there are our offices, whose employees can meet with potential clients, hold negotiations, and understand if there is a need for further contacts. All preliminary meetings can be held by our regional centers.

Do you understand what it means to fly to Latin America? Five people from the same division fly just to see if their offer is interesting or not. If they get the answer "no", they fly away. And the funds spent on a business trip are eventually included in the cost of production. In addition, most negotiations can be carried out via videoconferencing installed in each of our offices, all preliminary issues can be resolved online, and for this you do not need to fly to another country.

All this significantly reduces costs. If you count all the tickets, hotels, transport, travel cards, travel allowances, a serious amount will come up. According to our calculations, due to the closure of foreign representative offices and branches in connection with the emergence of regional network offices and a reduction in the number of business trips for division employees, optimization of hotel costs (and our distribution centers have already concluded agreements with some large hotels to provide corporate discounts to all Rosatom enterprises) support costs international activities across the industry by 2018 could be reduced by up to 30%! And this ultimately will partly reduce the cost of production.

- An employee who speaks the local language - is it important?

We have staff in all regional centers who speak the local languages. They are either citizens of these countries or Russians who have lived there for many years. The main competence of our employees is communication. These are marketers who know the nuances of sales processes, are able to negotiate, understand the local market and have sales experience, primarily in the field of energy. For example, the vice-president of the Brazil office is Sergey Krivolapov, a man who has lived and worked in the energy sector in Brazil for more than 20 years. Of course, he has connections there and an understanding of local customs and the market, he is fluent in Portuguese. We have such people in all regional centers. Or our RWP in Western Europe - Andrey Rozhdestvin, who worked in the industry for a long time (he was vice president at TVEL), who is fluent in French and English, which allows him to easily communicate with customers and partners in Western Europe.

Sergei Kiriyenko said that all enterprises should train a certain caste of specialists who know the market, and each enterprise should think about this. Why do this when there is RMS?

Indeed, the task set by the management is such that every enterprise engaged in foreign economic activity has people who know the language, have the skills to conduct international negotiations, understand how to behave in a cross-cultural environment, and so on. The first deputy general director of the state corporation, Kirill Borisovich Komarov, became the customer within the industry of a large program to train such personnel in all divisions and enterprises of Rosatom. And the first meeting of the Governing Council for such a program has already been held. In the near future, training of industry specialists under this program will begin on the basis of the Rosatom Corporate Academy.

RMS does not deal directly with the conclusion of contracts. We only prepare the customer for a “meeting with the beautiful”, conduct pre-contract negotiations, clarify the interests, needs and capabilities of a potential customer. The person who produces the product or provides the service concludes the contract. That is why Rosatom enterprises need people who know how to do this.

First of all, there are few of us RMC employees, and we are not going to be cloned at all. We are not going to expand the staffing of our regional centers. In regional centers, we have an average of 8-9 people. This is enough to cover the region. Our main difference is that we work for the entire industry at the same time, across the entire line of products and services, and work with regional coverage. Even if our regional center is open in a particular city, for example in Rio de Janeiro, this does not mean that it does not work in Argentina. The same contract in Bolivia is largely the merit of the RMC office. If the employees of the center had not flown there, had not agreed, had not met personally with the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, then in March of this year, Rosatom would not have been able to sign the intergovernmental agreement. Of course, at a certain stage, colleagues from DMS and RAOS Inc (as an IR integrator) joined our employees, and already teamwork allowed us to as soon as possible prepare the IGA for signing. As a team, we are working on this project now. This was also the case with the IR project in Indonesia.

Our task is to tread the paths along which Rosatom companies then come, in this case Rusatom Overseas Inc., which is an integrator in the field of large stations and research reactors.

- Do you collect feedback from clients and customers after the contract is concluded?

Of course! We are always there. The client always knows who to contact if something suddenly goes wrong on a project implemented by Rosatom companies. If for some reason the client is not heard, he can come to our office, which is a window where he can always turn. It happens that the client is not always satisfied with what the contractor does for him, and the contractor cannot always look critically at the situation, in which case we act as a kind of arbitrator. We are a young company and we learn from our own mistakes. After all, Rosatom did not have such a network yet. We created it with our own hands, somewhere we went blindly, somewhere we learned from large international companies. In addition, we, being directly subordinate to the leadership of Rosatom, can always bring important information directly. This is important to the client. We are a kind of ear in which the client can express his claims or suggestions and be guaranteed to be heard. In this regard, we perform the function of account management to support projects, provide assistance and support: so that, first of all, our companies do not have penalties; that all work is carried out in a timely manner; so that the client always knows that he is understood and heard. So that it ultimately works for the reliable reputation of Rosatom. We are such a remote office of Rosatom in foreign markets, its outpost.

What interesting projects are you currently working on?

Now we are actively promoting Indonesia's entry into the path of developing large-scale nuclear energy. South Africa is planning to build an 8-unit nuclear power plant, and our office in Johannesburg is currently working on this. In addition, the office in South Africa is actively cooperating with Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania and other countries of Central and South Africa, which have announced the development of nuclear energy in their countries. Our regional centers in Western and Central Europe promote the competencies of our companies in the field of: mechanical engineering (AEM), service and equipment supplies (Rusatom Service). Assistance in the implementation of contracts in Hungary and Finland. The regional center in Eastern Europe is providing assistance for a project in Belarus (AES - BelAES and RAOS Inc - IR), entering new markets with AEM products in the field of heat and hydropower, petrochemicals (Israel, Georgia, Azerbaijan), helps in a difficult situation TVEL (Ukraine). We are also negotiating with Argentine partners about the possibility of building a station.

Strange as it may sound, our competitors can often become our partners as well. On behalf of the RMC, we give appropriate recommendations on where and how we can cooperate with competitors, complementing them with our competencies, and their competencies with us, enriching each other with knowledge and obtaining reference projects in different countries on mutually beneficial terms. Our task can be expressed by quoting the hero from the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus": "He who hinders us will help us." The leadership of Rosatom approaches this issue with understanding, and where it is really beneficial for Rosatom, supports such an initiative.

How do you see the further development of the company? You said that you see no reason to expand the staff of regional centers. So, is it expedient to focus efforts in other directions?

Where we considered it necessary to set up regional centers, we have already done so. In principle, the globe is covered by the Rosatom network, and we do not intend to expand the staff. The only thing we have foreseen in this direction is the possible emergence of country offices (representative offices) of regional centers in those countries where we will have large-scale projects. For example, a RC country office for the Middle East may appear and North Africa in Egypt.

Our main task is to increase the number of contacts, and these contacts must be transformed into contracts, and contracts into revenue.

Another important vector of development is the promotion of public acceptance of nuclear energy in the world. We are doing a lot of work in this direction together with the Communications Department of the state corporation, using our foreign information centers, organizing seminars and exhibitions where famous scientists and public figures talk about the safety of nuclear technologies. The more countries in the world where the level of public acceptance of nuclear energy will grow thanks to our efforts, the more confidence will be in Rosatom as an innovative leader in this industry, where we can make high-quality products and provide services. And the consequence of this will be new contracts for Rosatom enterprises. This will be our common success story!

Bulletin of Atomprom

CEO"Rosatom" Alexei Likhachev discussed the current situation in the industry with representatives of the personnel reserve at breakfast. Now such meetings will become regular.
19 heads of enterprises and divisions of Rosatom were invited to a business breakfast, who prepared best projects during training in the personnel reserve under the program "Property". At the meeting, they discussed the tasks facing the state corporation and ways to solve them. Participants talked about the interaction of enterprises, cost centers and profits. Business breakfasts will be held at least once a quarter. “Such meetings are very important for understanding the role of the reserve,” said Ekaterina Rakhmankina, head of the personnel department at Rosatom. “Reservists are 100% supportive and ready to implement the changes announced at the leadership conference.”
DIRECT SPEECH
Alexander Merten
President of Rusatom - International Network
- Breakfast was held in a very kind, relaxed atmosphere. And this tone was originally set by the CEO, colleagues - and some were very worried before breakfast - picked it up with pleasure. At the meeting, they drank coffee and tea, ate syrniki and had a conversation. They discussed the results of the conference of industry leaders, the plan of changes voted for by the heads of enterprises, the tasks for the near future and the ways of development of Rosatom in the medium term. I liked the frankness and sincere interest of the participants. Of course, such conversations with the CEO are very important for managers of different levels. This is an opportunity to directly ask any questions and discuss them right there in a circle of like-minded people. Such meetings bring together, make our team truly united. As a result of the discussion of pressing problems in the framework of interaction with foreign partners and clients, Alexei Likhachev issued an instruction to the RMC and the personnel policy department of Rosatom: to hold a conference on the specifics of working at foreign markets in different regions and countries. Considering that our regional centers have already accumulated significant material in this area, this will be useful to our colleagues from divisions that deal with foreign contracts.
Leosh Tomicek
Senior Vice President for EPC projects in Africa, Latin America and the CIS, Rusatom Overseas
- The leadership of the industry and personally Aleksey Evgenievich attaches high priority to the successful implementation of the signed package of contracts for the construction of nuclear power plants abroad. The big challenge is Finland, the contract with which was signed in 2013. A nuclear power plant is under construction in Belarus. We hope that projects in Egypt and Hungary will be launched this year. Intensive work is underway in Bangladesh, China and India. We work in parallel on many sites, and this a large number of foreign construction projects requires efforts from each link - designers, builders, installers, commissioners, etc. We need to attract other companies, develop such forms of cooperation as partnerships and alliances in Russia and abroad. Rusatom Overseas also faces serious challenges. We need a breakthrough in Jordan - this year we want to reach major agreements and bring the project to an investment decision. Another challenge is the development of nuclear science centers and small nuclear power plants. We are trying to strengthen our work in these areas in order to achieve a significant share in the world markets.
Konstantin Vergazov
Vice President for Innovative Development, TVEL
- Of course, such meetings are necessary. For the head of a state corporation, this is an opportunity to immerse himself in the problems of the industry through communication with people who are directly related to the core business, to look at the development processes through the eyes of colleagues. And for us, it is an opportunity to learn firsthand about the strategic plans and tasks of Rosatom. During the conversation, Alexey Evgenievich spoke about global processes, industry development trends, market challenges and tasks for the future. With a current portfolio of overseas orders of $130 billion, we have 35 units under construction abroad. In this regard, I remember the phrase of Alexei Evgenievich: "Either we do it, or nothing will happen." Development for us is a non-alternative path, and on this path, the main risks are the timing and cost of work. Overcoming risks is impossible without reforms, without a restructuring of consciousness and flexibility of actions.
Evgeny Salkov
General Director of RusatomService
- At the meeting, Aleksey Evgenievich shared his experience, talked about how he received an offer to become the head of Rosatom, about his attitude to the values ​​of the state corporation and outlined his personal challenge related to the construction of nuclear power plants abroad. I especially remember the story of Alexei Evgenievich about a visit to Sarov to the enterprise where his father worked. He is very grateful to the team for showing him workplace and photographs of his father, told about his career path.
The meeting was useful because the CEO spoke about the latest initiatives, in particular about the Horizon project, about the challenges that he faces as the leader of the industry. It was interesting, as the vector of development of the state corporation, the vector of the formation of Rosatom as a global international company becomes clear.

At the thematic "Atomic Week" within the framework of the international exhibition "Astana EXPO-2017", the State Corporation "Rosatom" presented to foreign partners non-nuclear technologies - electricity generation facilities based on renewable energy, and a number of non-energy products related to medicine, agriculture and information technology.

President of Rusatom - International Network, a Rosatom division responsible for expanding the state corporation's presence abroad, Alexander Merten spoke in an interview with TASS about the advantages of Rosatom's non-nuclear products and about plans to build renewable energy sources (RES).

Alexander Aleksandrovich, Rosatom paid great attention to the presentation of its non-nuclear products as part of the nuclear themed week at Astana EXPO-2017. Why does the state corporation pay much attention to this area of ​​activity?

Our main product is construction and operation nuclear power plants(NPP) - well known to everyone. Here Rosatom firmly holds a leading position in the world market. As part of the Atomic Week, we also presented our non-nuclear and non-energy products.

The state corporation Rosatom includes a machine-building division, the Atomenergomash holding, which manufactures equipment for both the nuclear and non-nuclear industries, for example, for gas and petrochemistry and thermal power engineering. Rosatom also has an engineering division - the ASE group of companies, which is engaged in engineering both in the construction of nuclear power plants and any complex engineering facilities. They have developed and tested the Multi D technology, which allows virtual mode control the design, procurement, construction time and budget execution of complex engineering facilities in various industries. There are divisions in the structure of Rosatom that use nuclear technologies in medicine and agriculture engaged in the development of renewable energy.

Now we see great interest in the world in the development of wind energy. We have a lot to say in this area as well. Rosatom, having won tenders for the construction of wind farms with a total capacity of 970 MW in Russia until 2024, is becoming a leader in the development of wind generation in our country.

The Hungarian enterprise of Atomenergomash - Ganz Engineering and Energetics Machinery (Ganz EEM) - has developed a mini-hydroelectric plant in a container. The first contract for its installation has already been signed.

- What directions of development of cooperation with Kazakhstan do you see now?

Our cooperation with Kazakhstan has been successfully developing for a long time. For many years, we have been working with our partners - the Kazatomprom company - on the territory of Kazakhstan. There are five joint ventures that mine uranium by in-situ leaching. Moreover, production costs are among the lowest in the world. We are also cooperating in a project to create a low-enriched uranium bank in Kazakhstan. In addition, Kazatomprom is our co-shareholder of the Uranium Enrichment Center, created in Russia on the basis of the production site of the world's largest uranium enrichment enterprise - the Ural Electrochemical Combine (UEIP).

We see interest from Kazakhstan in the creation of centers for the irradiation of agricultural products, a corresponding agreement with the Antares group of companies was signed as part of Atomexpo-2017, held in June in Moscow. There is interest in nuclear medicine, equipment for gas and petrochemistry, and construction of wind parks and mini-hydroelectric power stations in the country.

We treat Kazakhstan as one of the main partners. We have a single customs territory, and from an economic point of view, our cooperation can be quite interesting and mutually beneficial.

Could you tell us more about the prospects for cooperation with Kazakhstan in the development of generation based on renewable energy sources?

The leadership of Kazakhstan has adopted a plan to develop renewable energy sources and increase their share in the country's energy balance by 2050 to 50%. The country has all the prerequisites for the development of renewable energy sources: more favorable tariffs for electricity generated by renewable energy sources, both wind and hydropower, and there are climatic conditions for this. In the south of Kazakhstan there are good water resources, mountain rivers, where our mini-hydroelectric power stations can be used very well and efficiently.

The development of renewable energy generation has a positive effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, but it is also necessary to develop more stable generation, which, regardless of weather conditions, could provide a stable energy supply to the population and enterprises of the country. It is very good that Kazakhstan is going to develop carbon-free energy in the country as part of the implementation of the Paris Agreements, which provide for the reduction of CO2 emissions, it would be logical to develop nuclear energy, which can provide basic generation.

We have been discussing the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan with our Kazakh partners for quite a long time. In 2018, Kazakhstan will adopt a strategy on this issue. We hope that in the end Kazakhstan will decide on the development of nuclear energy and industry, especially since there are all the prerequisites for this: its own uranium mining base, the Ulba Metallurgical Plant - a complex for the production of uranium products, participation in the Uranium Enrichment Center. We, in turn, are ready to offer them our new technologies in the construction and operation of nuclear power plants. You know that Russia has already put into commercial operation the world's only power unit of generation 3+ at the Novovoronezh NPP, power units based on fast neutrons, and the Proryv project is being implemented, which will make the fuel cycle closed. I think that our new technologies may also be of interest to Kazakhstan, given that the first fast neutron reactor was built and operated in Kazakhstan, in Aktau, while providing the whole city with fresh water.

Calling for the development of nuclear energy, we in no way oppose nuclear energy to renewable energy sources, otherwise Rosatom would not build wind farms. We are talking about the fact that these are complementary components of carbon-free energy.

- What other countries are of interest to Rosatom in the development of wind energy?

We work all over the world, in the field of non-nuclear products we are open for cooperation with all countries. The construction of wind farms is possible in any country where there are prerequisites for this and the availability of free territory. Let me give you an example: to build a power unit of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1200 MW, you need 1 square kilometer, for wind parks of the same capacity, an area comparable to the area of ​​the city of Brussels will be needed, and for a solar station with a capacity of 1200 MW, the entire territory of Andorra is needed.

At Atomexpo 2017, we signed framework agreements on cooperation with a number of countries, including in the field of wind generation. If they decide to build wind farms, we will take part in tenders. Of course, our plans to develop cooperation are not limited to this. We always offer partners our main product - NPP construction.

How is Rosatom's cooperation developing with Vietnam, which has decided to curtail its nuclear program and freeze the construction of nuclear power plants? Could this be a reason for a more active development of cooperation in the construction of renewable energy facilities in this country?

We respect the decision taken by the leadership of Vietnam. And we are ready to resume dialogue as soon as the government of the country makes such a decision.

At the same time, nuclear power plants are by no means all that Rosatom sells on the world market. At this stage, we are developing cooperation in the construction of the Nuclear Science and Technology Center in Vietnam, in accordance with the cooperation agreement signed in 2011. A memorandum of understanding on the implementation plan for this project was signed on June 29 in Moscow. After approval of the preliminary feasibility study of the project by the Government of Vietnam, consultations will be held on the terms of project financing. In addition, it is planned to develop a plan for further cooperation in the development of Vietnam's nuclear infrastructure. Also, with our participation, the Information Center for Nuclear Energy was created in the country, the task of which is to educate in the field of nuclear energy and nuclear technologies, and to popularize technical education. We hope that this work, among other things, will be the main one so that Vietnam will someday return to the issue of the need to build a nuclear power plant.

- Is there an understanding when Rosatom can start building wind farms abroad?

We are currently organizing the production of turbines for wind farms together with our partner, the Dutch company Lagerwey. Until 2020, we must commission a wind farm with a capacity of 610 MW in Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory, and another 360 MW in Adygea, the Krasnodar Territory and the Kurgan Region by 2024. There is absolutely nothing to prevent us from expanding our presence markets, from negotiating the export of this product abroad. But first, it would be advisable to get the relevant references, as we do in the nuclear power industry.

Now foreign countries are showing great interest in wind energy, including Kazakhstan. I do not rule out that we will be able to negotiate the construction of wind farms abroad in parallel with the construction of wind turbines in Russia.

At the end of last year, the structure of Rosatom signed the first contract for the supply and installation of mini-hydro power plants in Georgia. When will the contract be completed?

At present, the fulfillment of this contract depends not only on us, but also on our customers. In accordance with the agreement, they had to carry out hydrogeology, select a site that is necessary for the installation of a mini-hydroelectric power station. As soon as these activities are carried out, we will be able to place the installation.

In general, interest in this product is quite large, and in almost all countries of the world. Active negotiations are now underway on deliveries to Southeast Asia, to Africa. We are actively working on this issue with Kazakhstan. There are companies that would like to become distributors of our products - we have already signed a strategic agreement with a South African company. Most importantly, mini-hydroelectric power stations, due to their low power, do not provide for the construction of a dam and global facilities and are classified as "green" energy.

- What volume of foreign orders for ten years ahead does Rosatom plan to receive in 2017?

Let me remind you that at the end of 2016, the ten-year portfolio of foreign orders amounted to more than $133 billion. Every year we face an ambitious task - to increase the volume of a long-term portfolio of orders. Aleksey Evgenyevich Likhachev, Director General of the State Corporation Rosatom, has already said earlier that in 2017 Rosatom expects the portfolio of foreign orders to grow by 5.3% to $140 billion.

The portfolio is growing due to new customers, new orders, including through the implementation of new products on the world market. It should be noted that foreign companies are showing interest in our nuclear power plant construction technologies - we are the only ones in the world that have commissioned a generation 3+ power unit that fully complies with the increased requirements of the IAEA as a result of the post-Fukushima events. Competitors do not have such a product, and customers are interested in building a power unit with the most modern characteristics in the field of economics and security.

- Does Rusatom - International Network have any plans to expand its network of international presence?

Today, there are 11 regional centers operating in the world, which together represent an industry complex of Rosatom, designed to support Rosatom's subsidiaries in the international markets in promoting their products and services. We are not considering opening additional regional centers today. We can think about the issue of creating an additional office only if we have large projects. Then an additional country office can be opened within the regional center. For example, in Prague there is a regional center for Central Europe, but at the same time there is a country office in Budapest, because there we implement big project- "Paks-2". Now the regional centers of Rosatom cover almost all regions of the world, in accordance with the geography of our presence, in the very near future we do not plan to open new ones.

Interviewed Olga Dedyaeva

Alexander Merten has been appointed President of CJSC Rusatom - International Network, the company reported on September 2. Until now, the head of the company was Nikolai Drozdov, who combined this position with the post of director of the International Business Department of the State Corporation Rosatom.

Prior to his appointment as President, A. Merten worked at CJSC Rusatom - International Network as Senior Vice President - Regional Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe, and before that - as Vice President of CJSC Rusatom Overseas, representing the interests of the company in the territory Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova.

Assuming the position of President of CJSC Rusatom - International Network, A. Merten noted that the company was tasked with "organizing an effective system of Rosatom's global presence, both in terms of promoting products and services of all divisions, and for building partnerships with foreign companies". “One of our goals is to reduce industry costs for conducting foreign economic activity,” he specified.

CJSC Rusatom - International Network was created to deploy and manage the regional centers of Rosatom. To date, such centers have been opened in Prague (zone of responsibility - Central Europe), Kyiv (Eastern Europe), Singapore (Southeast Asia) and Johannesburg (Central and South Africa). “It is planned that in the future offices will operate in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, North and South America, Western Europe,” the company says.