TIANJIN, September 1. /TASS/. The construction of the Akkuyu NPP has stayed on track in large part due to the personal efforts of the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, general director of the Rosatom state corporation Alexey Likhachev told reporters.

"Thanks primarily to the personal attention and support of our presidents, both Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Mr. Erdogan, the project [the construction of the Akkuyu NPP] is moving forward and has not stopped for a minute, neither during the difficult years of the pandemic, nor in the last three years of this sanctions war," the head of the Russian nuclear industry said.

The CEO of Rosatom also reported that the company is in the process of signing agreements with India and Turkey on new nuclear power plants.

"It’s in the pipeline [the agreement with India]. <…> The situation is the same with Turkey - we are working on it," he replied to questions about the prospects for signing agreements with India and Turkey on the construction of new nuclear power plants.

When asked about cooperation with India, Likhachev noted that Rosatom has proposed working with New Delhi to build small floating nuclear power plants as well as invited it to invest in a number of projects in Russia's north.

According to him, India pays particular attention to the development of nuclear science.

"They, perhaps like no one else today, are interested in joining us in a new generation, the fourth generation of nuclear energy, with a closed nuclear fuel cycle, using fast neutron reactors," Likhachev said.

He added that India is focused on the "technologies of tomorrow."

"These are quantum technologies. When we are developing our quantum sector - in particular in the format of the BRICS platform - we see huge interest in this work, in this cooperation, from our Indian friends," the CEO of Rosatom said.