OREANDA-NEWS. A delegation from TENEX, led by the Company's General Director Lyudmila Zalimskaya, attended the annual conference of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), which was held in Tokyo on 15-16 April 2014.

One of the key topics discussed at the forum was the new Basic Energy Plan approved by Japan's Cabinet on 10 April 2014, which will shape the country's policies in this field for the next twenty years. In particular, the plan states that nuclear generation, alongside coal and gas power stations, is an “important base-load source of electricity”. The Japanese government, however, plans to gradually decrease the share of nuclear power in the overall energy mix - once it has found its “ideal” ratio in the next two to three years - after the restart of the idled nuclear power stations.

During the forum the TENEX team negotiated with a number of Japanese companies over matters related to further cooperation, including embarking on new projects in the nuclear fuel cycle.

TENEX's General Director Lyudmila Zalimskaya said, “Long-standing partnerships link us firmly with most of Japan's companies,” and stressed, “I am convinced that the energy plan approved by the Japanese government will give renewed impetus to cooperation and serve as a groundwork for interesting and promising joint projects.”

Established in 1956, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) is a non-commercial non-governmental association with a membership compromised of over 400 utilities, manufacturers of equipment for the nuclear industry, construction firms and research and scientific organisations. Besides JAIF's permanent members, the Forum's annual conferences are normally attended by representatives from Japanese government and local authorities as well as environmental organisations. TENEX has been an associate member of JAIF since 1998.