Trump-Viktor Orban Meet Friday Night, Hungary Buy US Nuclear Fuel

US President Donald Trmp with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban/PHOTO via Instagram @orbanvictor

JAKARTA - Hungary will sign a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, including the purchase of American nuclear fuel and US technology to store used fuel at Russian-made nuclear power plants.

The deal will be signed as US President Donald Trump is due to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday, November 7 evening local time. The two leaders are expected to discuss Hungarian dependence on Russian oil.

"We will sign an important intergovernmental agreement on nuclear energy cooperation with my fellow foreign minister, Marco Rubio," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

Hungary is one of the few European Union countries to maintain close ties with Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is reluctant to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

Trump is a supporter of the right-wing leader Orban, but has called on European countries to reduce energy ties with Moscow and buy more energy from the United States.

Szijjarto said that Hungary would buy American nuclear fuel for Russian-made nuclear power plants in Paks to meet its increasing energy needs.

Rosatom Rusia saat ini sedang membangun dua reactor baru di Paks. Proyek perluasan "Paks II", yang telah diunda cukup lama, diberikan kepada Rosatom pada tahun 2014 tanpa tender.

"In addition to maintaining existing supplier relations, for the first time in Hungarian energy history, we will also buy American nuclear fuel," said Szijjarto.

Hungary will also purchase American technology that allows used nuclear fuel to be safely stored inside the Paks PLTN, Szijjarto said in a statement.

The agreement will also include a small modular nuclear reactor, the minister said.

In August, Hungary announced its partnership with Polish Syntos Green Energy, which holds the right to GE Vernova Hitachi's technology at a small modular reactor in Central Europe.