US signs nuclear cooperation MOU with Dominican Republic

US nuclear – The U.S. and the Dominican Republic signed a nuclear cooperation memorandum of understanding Wednesday, aimed at building a framework for future peaceful nuclear talks. The agreement stops well short of anything weapons-related, but it could lay groundwork for

On Wednesday, while attention in Washington was elsewhere, the U.S. State Department took a different kind of step—one that puts nuclear power back on the diplomatic menu.

The United States signed a nuclear cooperation memorandum of understanding with the Dominican Republic. a Caribbean country with a population roughly comparable to Ohio. In the State Department’s announcement. the agency said the memorandum is meant to advance peaceful civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

To some experts, the wording is doing important work. Ashley Finan. a global fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy. said the document is “not a particular deal of any sort.” In her view. it functions as a strategic cooperation framework—a diplomatic tool designed to structure government-to-government conversations about potential nuclear cooperation in areas like nuclear energy and medical and other applications.

In practice, that means this MOU can help shape what comes next. Finan described it as a document that would guide discussions toward a more concrete agreement later.

The Dominican Republic has been looking at nuclear energy and modernizing its energy laws for some time. Finan pointed to a vice minister of nuclear energy and said the country has been working with the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider development of a nuclear electricity program for a number of years.

That matters because the country has had real-world power problems. Finan tied the broader push to the Dominican Republic’s energy challenges, including a nationwide blackout earlier this year.

Still, the idea of nuclear power on an island raises a basic question: would it fit the grid? For a long time, Finan said a nuclear power plant didn’t make sense for a country the size of the Dominican Republic. It would have been too much power for the size of its grid.

Now, the conversation is shifting because of how nuclear technology has evolved. Finan said that as companies develop smaller reactors, those designs could be more “right-sized” for a grid like the Dominican Republic’s.

That’s also where the future could get more formal. Finan said the MOU could potentially lead to what’s known as a “1-2-3 deal.” Such an agreement would establish a framework for significant transfers of nuclear material or peaceful nuclear technology between the United States and a foreign nation. under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act.

This is not a quick process. Finan said a 1-2-3 deal is “a long and very serious process” involving embassies, the office of the president, Congress, and others.

For readers worried about weapons, the document’s language is meant to close that door. The State Department announcement uses the word “civil” three different times, reflecting the focus on civilian nuclear cooperation. Finan said the agreement is entirely focused on everything nuclear except weapons.

The Dominican Republic, for its part, has made clear it takes nonproliferation seriously. Finan said the country has signed essentially every major international treaty related to nuclear nonproliferation. That includes the first major treaty in 1971. a treaty that prohibits nuclear weapons in the Caribbean. and most recently. a treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

“They are clearly very committed to a civilian-only program,” Finan said.

Even if negotiations continue, the timeframe for any weapons-related concern is not where the current facts point. Finan said not to expect America to have nuclear warheads on the island anytime soon.

Why pursue this at all—especially with a partner thousands of miles away? The diplomatic math runs both directions. The Dominican Republic is roughly 830 miles off the coast of the United States.

For the U.S. government, Finan said it is likely important to become the dominant nuclear energy supplier in the world, especially in its own backyard. She noted that the United States is the top nuclear generating country, followed by China, France, and Russia.

The logic is built on time horizons. Finan explained that if a country becomes a nuclear energy supplier for another nation. it tends to create a relationship lasting “a century-long. ” because there is a decade or more prior to the first build. and then a reactor can operate for 60. 80. or even 100 years.

The U.S. already has more than two dozen 1-2-3 agreements in place that allow peaceful nuclear cooperation with 50 countries. Finan said those include large countries like Brazil and Japan, as well as smaller ones like Morocco and Vietnam.

There’s also the question of safety and standards. Finan said the U.S. has an interest in seeing nuclear energy development around the world done with the best safety standards and strong security and nonproliferation standards. She said the United States has some of the strongest standards in the world and suggested they are “safer” than China or Russia.

At the end of the day, Finan framed the MOU as a step worth taking—one the Dominican Republic can use to plan its next energy move without drifting into the kind of alarm the word “nuclear” can provoke.

“I think this is a positive step,” Finan said.

What the agreement does not do is promise immediate nuclear power plants, or anything resembling warheads. It instead opens a door to structured talks—talks the two governments can pursue in a way that, for now, stays firmly in the realm of civilian energy, medicine, and technology.

United States Dominican Republic nuclear cooperation memorandum of understanding State Department peaceful civil nuclear cooperation 1-2-3 deal Section 123 Atomic Energy Act nonproliferation International Atomic Energy Agency Caribbean nuclear weapons treaty blackout