Putin and Mirziyoyev to launch Uzbekistan's first nuclear power plant construction

ST. PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is visiting Russia’s second largest city to attend this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The meeting, the third recent in-person contact between the two leaders, will be held at the Constantine Palace.

The Uzbek leader attended the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9. The two presidents also met on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit in Astana.

Start of NPP construction

During their meeting, the two presidents are expected to give a start to construction of the first power generating unit of the integrated nuclear power plant (NPP) in Uzbekistan. They will participate in the ceremony via a video linkup.

"They will be greeted from the construction site by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, and Uzatom Director Azim Akhmedkhadjaev," Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said.

Putin and Mirziyoyev will deliver their speeches, and, after a brief address by Grossi, Likhachev will "report about the technical readiness to start first concreting of Unit One and will ask Putin to signal the start of the work." Then, Akhmedkhadjaev will do the same, requesting permission from Mirziyoyev. After that, the presidents will give their go-ahead.

The integrated nuclear power plant (NPP) in Uzbekistan is a unique project because it will become the first nuclear power generation facility with both high-and small-capacity reactors on its territory. The integrated plant will encompass two high-capacity power units on the basis of VVER-100 reactors and one power unit with two small-capacity reactors of 55 MW each.

The first concreting ceremony implies that the facility is given the "nuclear power plant under construction" status by the IAEA.

SPIEF-2026

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is taking place on June 3-6 and will become the 29th edition. This year, the event will be held under the theme "Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future." Saudi Arabia is the guest country at SPIEF. The forum program is dedicated to shaping a new model of global development amid the ongoing transformation of the world economy.

The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the forum. TASS is its official general information partner.