Brazil and Argentina signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement this Friday (06), which will allow Brazil to advance the construction of the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB). In this way, the country will be able to gain autonomy in the production of radioisotopes for the manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals used in cancer treatment and imaging diagnosis. By 2026, RMB will invest R$1 billion to become Brazil's most important nuclear technology application research center to benefit society.

The agreement will be signed this Friday by the two countries’ nuclear energy committees on the official agenda of Argentina’s Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Luciana Santos. The mission included a visit to Argentina's RA-10 reactor.

Argentina is Brazil's strategic partner in developing the yuan, and the agreement provides for the construction of a new radioisotope production plant linked to the yuan.

Minister Luciana Santos said: “Argentina has internationally recognized capabilities in developing radioisotope production plants and we want to rely on this experience when building Brazil’s multipurpose reactor.”

Nuclear cooperation is part of a strategic alliance relaunched by Brazilian and Argentine President Lula during a visit to neighboring countries in January.

In addition to visiting the Argentinian RA-10 reactor at the Ezeiza Atomic Center, the minister also participated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Argentine institution I+D+ie and the Financier of Research and Projects (Finep).

The initiative aims to facilitate the financing of R&D projects of mutual interest, the exchange of best practices and the establishment of joint activities to encourage greater cooperation between organizations in both countries in R&D and innovation.

During the visit, MCTI and the Argentinian Ministry of Economy will also sign a memorandum of understanding to create an international biosafety network for modern biotechnology products. The network, involving the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock of Paraguay and Uruguay, aims to establish procedures that reduce costs and time and allow the establishment of common procedures and uniform standards for the biosafety assessment of biotechnological products. Modified Organisms (GMO). In Brazil, the National Technical Committee on Biosafety (CTNBio), a unit of MCTI, will be responsible for implementing actions related to this cooperation instrument.

Argentina’s official agenda also includes the minister’s participation in the closing ceremony of the “Building Sovereignty with More Science and Technology” event at the Center for Science and Culture (C3) in Buenos Aires. Editor/Xu Shengpeng