October 28, 2007 (LPAC)--Chilean congressional delegations toured France and Russia this past week, to visit both nations' nuclear plants, and to discuss with both government and energy sector officials how they might cooperate to help resolve Chile's desperate energy crisis.

Pressure on President Michelle Bachelet to consider nuclear energy has been building in intensity, particularly since the commission of scientists she mandated to study the feasibility of nuclear energy delivered its study to her with a reportedly favorable recommendation. Unfortunately, Bachelet has chosen to keep the report's contents secret.

The head of that commission, physicist Jorge Zanelli, traveled in France with other commission members and with congressmen from the House Mining and Energy Commission, who visited the Penly nuclear reactor in Normandy, and met with officials from the EDF electricity giant, among others.

In Russia, during a four-day tour that concluded October 26, members of the Senate's Mining and Energy Commission met with leaders of the State Duma as well as with the president of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Rosatom, and experts from Atomstroyexport, which specializes in building nuclear reactors abroad. After touring the Nizhniy Novgorod and Balakovo nuclear reactors, they expressed the hope that Russia's state energy companies could contribute their expertise to Chile, not only in the nuclear sector, but also for oil and gas development as well.

The parliamentarians also held a lively dialogue with their Russian counterparts on important strategic developments, involving Eastern Europe, Asia and Ibero-America.