"Nuclear energy programs have often fallen through because of a lack of secure financing," said Ben Rhode, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "The United Arab Emirates has considerable funds to hand, so that's not a problem. Also, America, France and Britain are keen to cooperate with it in the nuclear field."
23 June 2008: Forbes
By Lionel Laurent
LONDON - The United Arab Emirates is getting closer to its dream of being the first Arab country to acquire nuclear power.
Bidding has already started for the chance to build a nuclear reactor in the United Arab Emirates, with Britain's Amec one of nine engineering firms that have been short-listed. Although the U.A.E. is certainly not the only Arab country to aspire to nuclear power, with Egypt also accepting bids for a first reactor last month, it has a better chance of being able to actually see the project through.
"Nuclear energy programs have often fallen through because of a lack of secure financing," said Ben Rhode, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "The United Arab Emirates has considerable funds to hand, so that's not a problem. Also, America, France and Britain are keen to cooperate with it in the nuclear field."
The U.A.E. has signed co-operation agreements with the U.S., France and Britain on the development of a civil nuclear program.
Unlike countries such as Egypt or Turkey, which have also expressed an interest in nuclear power, the U.A.E. is benefiting both from the oil wealth flowing through the Gulf and its eagerness to assuage any political fears over its nuclear ambitions. The U.A.E. has agreed to adopt various international agreements on civil nuclear power, including the Additional Protocol, which allows nuclear inspectors greater powers to check facilities.
Egypt has so far refused to sign the Additional Protocol, despite President Hosni Mubarak's declaration last October that its nuclear plan would be in co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency watchdog. Egypt is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but this is not always enough; Iran, which has been hit with United Nations and European Union sanctions for refusing to end its uranium-enrichment program, is also a signatory.
French energy firms Areva ,Total and Suez said back in January that they would offer the United Arab Emirates a package proposal of two pressurized water reactors, along with services and material. A spokesman for Suez said the proposal was still being fine-tuned, but that the agreement could be signed and in play by 2009.
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