(VOVworld) - US President Barack Obama has approved a civilian nuclear pact with Vietnam, known as “The 123 agreement”, which could lead to the sale of US reactors to Vietnam.

Vietnam civilian nuclear deal approved (Photo: AFP)

Under the agreement, Vietnam committed not to produce radioactive materials for nuclear weapons and signed US nonproliferation standards. Obama said in a memorandum to the Energy Department that the performance of the agreement will promote their common defense and security rather than posing any risk.

At the deal signing on the sidelines of an East Asia summit in Brunei last October, Vietnam agreed not to enrich or reprocess uranium, key steps in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. The agreement will be reviewed in 90 days by Congress and put into effect if accepted. Vietnam's market for nuclear power is now second largest in East Asia after China and is expected to grow to $50 billion in 20 years. Vietnam hopes nuclear energy will provide more than 10 percent of its total power generation needs by 2030.