France Ready To Assist Malaysia To Develop Civil Nuclear Energy
KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- France is ready to collaborate with Malaysia on civil nuclear energy development if Malaysia decides to pursue this option as part of its energy transition efforts, said French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Nicolas Forissier.
However, he said the decision rests with Malaysia’s government, as it is still evaluating the option through national discussions and debates.
“I understood that it was a debate because it is the best way to decarbonise electricity and power production.
“We had discussions with the members of the government, and they are looking at it. They are studying it. They are having a national debate (on possibilities to pursue civil nuclear energy development in the future),” he told a press conference here, today.
Forissier said France possesses extensive expertise in nuclear energy, with about 60 per cent of the country’s electricity generated from nuclear power, and the remainder from other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Therefore, he said France is ready to share its experience and technical know-how should Malaysia opt to include nuclear energy in its future energy mix.
“We are telling Malaysia that if you want to develop it (civil nuclear energy) to increase decarbonised electricity generation, we are ready to help.
“We want to build a long-term partnership because nuclear energy requires a long-term commitment, for about 50 to 80 years,” he said.
Today, Forissier made his first official visit to Malaysia, accompanied by a delegation from more than 20 French companies, reflecting the strong interest of both French public and private actors in deepening the economic partnership between France and Malaysia.
In a separate statement, he said the visit is the latest illustration of increased political engagement between the two countries over the past few years.
“This follows several high-level recent exchanges, including conversations between the two ministers of foreign affairs, the visit of the Malaysian minister of defence to the French aircraft carrier in March 2025, and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to France on July 3 and 4, 2025,” it said.
-- BERNAMA