CTK reported that Mr Martin Kocourek industry and trade minister of Czech and his US counterpart Mr Gary Locke signed a declaration on bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy in Washington. Cooperation will take commercial and scientific form.

The two countries' interest in cooperation is quite natural. The Czech Republic is preparing a lucrative tender for the completion of the nuclear power plant Temelin, near the Austrian border, in which the US firm Westinghouse has expressed interest. Westinghouse has a Japanese owner but its seat and operations are in the USA. The project is worth several hundred billion crowns. Besides Westinghouse, the other bidders are Czech-Russian consortium of Skoda JS Atomstroyexport and France's Areva. 

Mr Petr Necas, Prime Minister of Czech said that earlier decision on the winner of the tender would be made in 2013. He added that the USA was looking forward to cooperation with the Czech Republic that is preparing new nuclear reactors. He said he hoped the industry in both countries might take advantage of the new opportunities.

Mr Kocourek told journalists that Westinghouse may consider itself one of the favorites in the Temelin tender. The US side is qualified in nuclear energy, which means Westinghouse is an equal partner with other bidders in the tender.

He added that Westinghouse's chance will depend on the bid it submits next year. The offer has to be competitive in relation to other bids. Taking into account the Czech experience with the US firm, it can be considered one of the favorites.

According to Czech government, safety, quality and efficiency will be the main criteria in the tender. The government will, however, also consider a strategic point of view. Commercial and technical indicators will be taken into account in assessing the bids.

Westinghouse had taken part in the construction of the first two units at Temelin. It had also supplied nuclear fuel to the plant but this year the supplies have been taken over by the Russian firm TVEL that won the tender back in 2006. 

The Czech Republic has nuclear energy experts with experience in building of nuclear power plants. Their knowledge can be useful for the Americans who are considering plans for renaissance of nuclear energy. US President Mr Barack Obama in February spoke in favor of the construction of the first new nuclear power plant in the USA in thirty years.

Mr Kocourek said that "The declaration is opening up new possibilities in R&D, which is very important from a point of view of looking for new ways of how to cover the two countries' energy needs in the future."

The Czech Republic and the USA also want to pay more attention to bilateral trade in the future. Mr Kocourek's visit in Washington is thus the beginning of the Czech US trade dialogue that should encourage bilateral trade and investments. The focus will be on R&D, IT and energy. 

The form of the dialogue will be discussed in Washington by Czech deputy industry and trade minister Mr Milan Hovorka and his American colleague Mr Juan Verde. Mr Hovorka will also have talks in the US economic chamber and will go on a tour of Honeywell's technology centre. Honeywell runs factories in the Czech Republic.

Data from the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry show that the USA is the 14th biggest trade partner for the Czech Republic and the 13th biggest export market. The USA makes up around 3 percent of Czech foreign trade turnover. America is also the 9th largest foreign direct investor in the country. 

The Czech Republic has also made big investments in the USA recently. Ceska gumarenska spolecnost, a company producing agricultural tyre brands Mitas and Continental, wants to build a USD 43.81 million factory in Charles City. Linet, which produces medical beds and health care equipment, also plans to build a plant in the USA.

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