The ongoing NATO summit in Ankara witnessed a significant agreement on global energy security. The United States, Japan and South Korea signed a trilateral cooperation framework agreement to accelerate the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in other countries.
According to a statement from the US State Department, the cooperation will initially focus on the Indo-Pacific region. The three countries aim to combine their complementary advantages in civilian nuclear energy to support shared security interests and meet the energy security needs of partner countries.
The agreement aims to promote reactor fleet deployment models to reduce project development risks, achieve economies of scale, stimulate private investment, simplify licensing processes and optimize supply chains.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that small modular reactors are the future of energy, calling them a "safe, efficient and economically advantageous solution." Rubio highlighted the importance of energy security by recalling how supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz affected global energy flows.
The United States has allocated more than $10 million to the State Department's FIRST program to support the safe deployment of SMRs in the Indo-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, GE Vernova, Hitachi, Samsung C&T and SGE have decided to cooperate on the deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor across Europe.
The NATO summit in Ankara brings together leaders from 32 member countries and key partners. The summit addresses issues such as Europe's defense capability, NATO defense spending targets, military modernization and continued support for Ukraine.
South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are not NATO members but have been invited as guests to summits since 2022. The gathering in Ankara is Turkey's second NATO summit after hosting the 2004 Istanbul summit.
