US Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Mary Yovanovitch has said in Slovenia that US investors are interested in a possible tender for the construction of a second block at the Krsko nuclear power plant, which Slovenia co-owns with Croatia.
In an interview with the STA news agency run on Friday, Yovanovitch said the United States was very competitive in nuclear energy, not only in terms of technology but also in terms of security, voicing hope that a US company would be able to apply for the project.
Slovenia set the construction of a second block at Krsko as a long term strategic project seven years ago but its realisation is uncertain in the present circumstances.
Slovenian Infrastructure Minister Zvone Cernac recently told Slovenian Television this was a very delicate issue and that it would be very difficult to build the second block if the social climate proved to be unfavourable, adding that the government would see what the general public thought.
Yovanovitch also underlined the importance of good Slovenian-Croatian relations for the stability of the region. She said Slovenia had a crucial role in the Balkans, adding that the progress it had achieved in relations with Croatia was very important and that the US was looking forward to Slovenia's ratification of Croatia's European Union Accession Treaty.
