The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s International Regulatory Development Partnership (IRDP) helped to kick-off a new partnership between the United States and Ghana under the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program at a February 25, 2022, bilateral meeting. The FIRST program, led by the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with the NRC and other U.S. agencies, will support Ghana’s adoption of nuclear energy technology.
Following remarks from the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Ghana’s Minister of Energy, the Ghanaian President’s Senior Advisor, and other dignitaries from the United States, Ghana, and Japan, Mr. David Skeen, Deputy Director of the NRC’s Office of International Programs, discussed past and future NRC cooperation with the Ghana Nuclear Regulatory Authority. Mr. Mark Tonacci, an expert from NRC’s contractor AdSTM, provided an overview of NRC’s IRDP program, its previous assistance activities with Ghana and a workshop planned for delivery under the FIRST program entitled, “Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Licensing and Regulatory Development.”
The meeting allowed the FIRST program to present to Ghana a draft work plan, which includes the IRDP licensing and regulatory development workshop and others on stakeholder engagement, workforce development, and other topics. The plan will be refined in future coordination meetings with the Ghanaian partners.