By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN - Jordan and Russia initialled on Thursday a nuclear cooperation agreement, with the Kingdom set to sign two similar deals with Romania and the UK in April.

The deal with Russia, which will be officially signed in late March, paves the way for the construction of nuclear plants for the generation of power and water desalination, in addition to cooperation in the exploration and mining of nuclear materials in Jordan, Chairman of Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Khaled Toukan told reporters following the signing.

The agreement, which will lead to building nuclear research reactors for scientific research, will also enable Jordanian engineers, chemists, physicists and scholars to be trained in Russian universities and nuclear science institutes, Toukan said.

Nikolay Spasskiy, deputy director general of the Russian State Nuclear Company (Rosatom), said Russia’s offer to Jordan is "competitive", when compared to similar agreements the Kingdom has already signed with other countries.

"We know that there is competition and we are prepared for it. We have been in this business for a very long time. We have a very developed nuclear energy industry in our country," Spasskiy told The Jordan Times Thursday.

Highlighting Russia's advanced nuclear capabilities, Spasskiy added: "We constructed nuclear reactors all around the world - in Europe, in Asia, everywhere. We do think that our package is competitive technologically, economically, price and time-wise. We are doing it in a transparent and honest way and we hope to win."

JAEC Deputy Chairman Kamal Araj, who signed the deal with Spasskiy, told The Jordan Times that what distinguishes the nuclear package from Russia is that nuclear fuel will be returned to Russia after being used in Jordan, which will help the Kingdom when it comes to management of nuclear waste.

Toukan, who underscored the significance of the deal with Russia, said the agreement is a milestone for Jordan as Russia is a "very important" partner in the field of nuclear energy, with a world-renowned nuclear know-how.

Spasskiy said Rosatom is prepared for the competition and will follow all the rules, regulations and conditions in Jordan.

"The deal signed today constitutes a foundation for a very serious cooperation… It is an agreement for practical cooperation," said Spasskiy, adding that the signing follows two years of intensive talks and visits.

Russian Ambassador in Amman Alexander Kalugin said the agreement reflects the strong political will of the leaderships in both countries to cooperate in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and is a new opportunity to expand bilateral cooperation.