HONGKONG, April 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia needs a new state-owned nuclear energy major to strengthen its positions on the international nuclear market, the country's top civilian nuclear official said Wednesday.
Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, told journalists: "We need an urgent reorganization of Russia's civilian nuclear sector by creating a market-effective 100% state-owned company that will be highly competitive on the international [nuclear] market."
He said that the company would comprise all elements of the nuclear fuel cycle, including power generation.
Kiriyenko, who will arrive to India April 6 on a visit as part of an Asian tour, also said Russia considered the country to be a promising nuclear materials market and was negotiating supplies to India with a number of other countries.
"For us, India is a serious nuclear energy market. In particular, we are discussing possible nuclear materials supplies to India with a number of nuclear exporting countries," he said, adding that he would discuss nuclear energy cooperation with India's authorities during his visit.
