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Newest 123 Agreements

During the past year, the United States has expanded its range of civil nuclear cooperation agreements to three important Asian nations, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Known as 123 agreements, in reference to a section of the Atomic Energy Act, these agreements are necessary for the U.S. to be able to export nuclear reactors and related export-controlled technology to foreign nations. Currently the U.S. has 26 nuclear cooperation agreements that cover 52 countries (Euratom agreement includes multiple nations).
 
Singapore
Former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Singapore’s minister of foreign affairs Vivian Balakrishnan met on July 31, 2024, to sign the agreement. It went into effect December 12, 2024, with an expiration date of December 12, 2054. Singapore has no nuclear energy facilities yet but plans to build a pool of nuclear experts to assess potential future deployment.


Thailand
The 123 agreement was signed by U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Robert F. Godec and Thailand’s Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI) Supamas Isarabhakdi, on January 14, 2025. Thailand's latest 2024 Power Development Plan includes plans for two 300 MW SMRs, expected to begin operation by 2037.


Philippines
Department of Energy Secretary, Raphael P.M. Lotilla, signed the 123 agreement for the Philippines as Chair of the Philippine Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEPIAC), while former-Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken signed on behalf of the United States. The signing took place on November 16, 2023. The agreement went into effect on July 2, 2024, and expires in 2054. The Philippines’ Department of Energy's clean energy scenario envisions nuclear power as part of a diversified energy mix, targeting 4,800 MW of nuclear capacity by 2050.

Jocelyn Livier, Della Ratta Fellow, Partnership for Global Security

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