Colombo, Dec 16 (IANS): Sri Lankan Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said on Thursday that the South Asian country is discussing nuclear energy cooperation with Russia.

The minister said he met with the Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Levan Dzhagaryan on Thursday and discussed the requirements of Sri Lanka's energy sector.

"We discussed cooperation on fuel requirements, refinery operations, challenges in coal supply and the memorandum of understanding signed for nuclear energy cooperation with Rosatom," he said.

Rosatom is a Russian state-owned corporation specializing in nuclear energy, nuclear non-energy goods and high-tech products, according to the minister.

He said Russia can help address many of Sri Lanka's energy problems.

"Sri Lanka struggled with securing energy supplies earlier this year. We are actively looking for energy cooperation with other nations and Russia can play a big role," the minister said.