PH, Russian firms explore nuclear energy potential

Holding firm A Brown Company Inc. (ABCI) entered into a cooperation agreement with Rusatom International Network (Rain) of Russia to develop nuclear technologies in the Philippines, specifically for use in the industrial, agriculture and health fields.

The firms said the cooperation would look into the “peaceful” use of atomic energy, such as radiation technologies.

ABCI president and chief executive Roel Castro and Rain president Alexander Merten signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday on the sidelines of the IX International Forum Atomexpo 2017. The cooperation puts meat to the agreements signed by President Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 25.

“A Brown welcomes this new opportunity to come up with more diverse solutions toward the improvement of the lives and livelihoods of Filipinos,” Castro said in a statement.

He said the cooperation also bolstered the company’s “commitment to constantly explore business avenues that would facilitate nation-building.”

For his part, Merten said the cooperation “opens up great prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in the development of innovative technologies in the nuclear field.”

Both ABCI and Rain are hopeful for an increased public awareness among Filipinos about nuclear technologies as well as its applications and impact in the Philippines and in other Southeast Asian economies.

A Brown Company, Inc., a listed company, is focused in real estate, agribusiness, power generation, most of which are concentrated in Mindanao.

Rusatom International Network is a private entity that promotes the Russian nuclear industry’s products and services.—ODELINNE JAN LINA