On 5 November British Ambassador Melinda Simmons and representatives of the Embassy visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant as part of an official visit to the Exclusion Zone.

During the visit, Ms. Simmons got acquainted with the operation of the New Safe Confinement. It should be reminded that the United Kingdom was one of the main Contributors to the Chornobyl Shelter Fund, the replacement and continuation of which is the International Cooperation Account for Chornobyl.

After NSC visiting, a working meeting was held with the top managers of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management, during which the Acting Director General of the Chornobyl NPP, Valeriy Seyda familiarized the Ambassador with the work progress at Chornobyl NPP and prospects for the enterprise. They also discussed the extension of bilateral cooperation between the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the United Kingdom. The Ambassador expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to visit the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and said that the United Kingdom was proud to have been a partner of Ukraine in what had been achieved at the site over the last decades.

"We are very interested in finding new ways to cooperate with Ukraine, especially with regard to the safe management of nuclear materials and production of alternative energy sources", Ms Simmons said.

Asked by Madam Ambassador whether the Chornobyl NPP employees feel how important work they do every day, Valeriy Seyda answered: “Many of our employers started working at the Chornobyl NPP about 20-30 years ago. We have witnessed many events that happened to the Plant within this period. And for many of us, it is a great honor to work here, particularly because of the attention that is being paid to the Plant from all over the world. We are more aware than anyone else of how important our work is and how much responsibility we have”.

It should be noted that ChNPP and the United Kingdom have recently intensified bilateral cooperation, in particular in the field of decommissioning, radiation monitoring and radioactive materials management.