Myanmar is seriously considering buying a research reactor from Russia and has asked IAEA for guidance. Of the roughly 400 research reactors worldwide, nearly half have been mothballed due to their expense and complicated maintenance.

In anticipation, Myanmar has established a Department of Atomic Energy in Yangon. Moscow and Yangon reached an in-principle agreement earlier this year, and are now discussing the technical and commercial aspects of the transaction. The reactor is likely to be 5-10MWe with a cost of $1-5 million.