RIYADH: Finland's Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka met King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) President Hashem Abdullah Yamani here at the K.A.CARE headquarters and held wide-ranging talks on bilateral cooperation in atomic and renewable energy, said Pekka Voutilainen, Finnish ambassador in Riyadh, who also attended the meeting.

The envoy told Arab News: “Existing cooperation in the field of atomic energy topped the agenda during the meeting aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two friendly countries.”

The Kingdom has signed a pre-contract through which it can make use of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (RNSA) in Finland to build a strategic partnership between the two countries.

“Under this agreement the RNSA will become the strategic partner of K.A.CARE for the development of the infrastructure needed to form a specialized national authority for control and nuclear safety in the Kingdom,” a K.A.CARE spokesman said.

The agreement also covers cooperation in nuclear security, emergency preparedness and response as well as radioactive waste management.

Voutilainen said that the K.A.CARE president visited Finland in September and the Finnish minister visited him for the follow-up meeting.

“Yamani, during his visit, met several Finnish ministers to enhance bilateral cooperation and signed the atomic cooperation deal,” the envoy said.

The Kingdom has signed atomic cooperation agreements with France, South Korea, China, Argentina, Russia and Finland and is working on a renewable energy program in order to achieve its vision 2032, which aims to replace 50 percent of dependence on traditional fossil fuel with eco-friendly atomic and renewable energy.