"Wehave earned 3 billion USD in revenue from rice production usinghigh-growth genetically modified varieties in the Mekong Delta regionsince 1990. More than 50 genetically modified varieties of rice andplants were grown on 50 percent of the country's farm area, 30 percentof which was exportable rice grown on one million hectares of the MekongDelta," Thanh told a meeting titled National Conference on AtomicEnergy Applications for the Socio-Economic Development on October 23.
Thanhsaid Vietnam was among the top eight countries in the world usingatomic energy applications, according to the International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA).
Andrey Rozhkov, Head of United Corporation forInnovations' Sales Department, an enterprise run by Russia's RosatomState Corporation, said Vietnam was a Southeast Asian market primed totake advantage of such applications.
"Vietnam is a developingcountry and atomic energy can be used for economic growth andindustrialisation. Vietnam and Russia can promote deeper cooperation onatomic and nuclear energy industry and research. Russia has a strongbase in nuclear energy, and Vietnam and Russia enjoy a longstandingrelationship," Rozhkov said.
Tamikazu Kume, a technicalconsultant with Japan's Nuclear Safety Research Association, suggestedthat Vietnam invest more in research and human-resource training innuclear energy and atomic applications.
"Many industries canbenefit from nuclear energy, such as seafood for export, agriculture,medicine and energy. Vietnam's rapid development needs a huge supportbase and application of atomic energy," he said.
In Vietnam,medical treatment and food preservation industries are the biggest usersof atomic energy. Vietnam ranks second in the world in the use ofatomic energy to preserve food - about 66,000 tonnes of foodstuffs andpost-harvest products.
Nguyen Huu Quang, Director of the Centrefor Applications of Nuclear Technique in Industry (CANTI), said Vietnamhad sped up research and application of atomic energy.
"Since2007, we've used research to produce a computed tomography system and anautomatic gamma column scanner and monitor," Quang said. He added thatthe centre now exports the equipment to Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan,Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
The two-dayconference features the latest atomic energy research and itsapplication in agriculture, nuclear power plants, and in medicaltreatment projects with the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.
Vietnamhas now approved investment for the Ninh Thuan nuclear power projectand a "Master Plan for Development and Application of Atomic Energy forPeaceful Purposes". Both have been approved by the Government to promotethe atomic era.-VNA