The Technopark will partner former nuclear weapons workers with private industry, speeding the conversion of facilities in Russia's nuclear weapons complex to peaceful production. Our nuclear material security cooperation with the Russia Navy has been outstanding in both the Far East and with Russia's Northern Fleet, which I visited at this time last year. The Russian Navy has presented me with other submarine assistance proposals, which are being examined now by the U.S. government. We look forward to future cooperation with the Russian Navy. In the United States, we are revitalizing research and development, to assure the cost competitiveness and viability of nuclear energy through the next century.
Nuclear energy needs to be part of the global, clean energy mix.
But let's be candid. Communities and consumers worldwide must have confidence that nuclear power reactors can be operated safely and cheaply, and with due regard for nonproliferation and long-term disposal of spent fuel and waste. As Secretary of Energy, I have advanced the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative and Generation IV Nuclear Power Systems Initiative to develop new reactor designs that customers will find economical, safe, proliferation-resistant, and that minimize production of nuclear waste. The IAEA can also play a supporting role in this area. We applaud the IAEA for helping more nations and more people to share in the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.