Mideast Nations Offered Nuclear Energy Support

The chief U.N. nuclear watchdog on Sunday wrapped up a tour of the Middle East to offer support to nations interested in developing peaceful atomic energy programs despite the international face-off with Iran over suspicions it is pursuing nuclear weapons.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the smaller Arab states around the Persian Gulf have said they will study the feasibility of building civilian programs for generating electricity with nuclear reactors.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II told Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that his kingdom needs to diversify its energy sources, especially with oil prices rising. The king promised that Jordan, which imports nearly all of its oil, would be a model in the peaceful development of nuclear energy if it decided to go ahead.

The official Petra news agency quoted ElBaradei as saying his “agency was ready to help Jordan to benefit from nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.” He said the IAEA would dispatch a team to Jordan next week to look into its plans.

Earlier in his trip, ElBaradei offered similar support to the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman – which said in November that they would consider starting a joint nuclear program for peaceful purposes.

ElBaradei said Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that he recognized “the necessity of the Gulf Cooperation Council to own this [nuclear] energy at the current time despite owning other energy sources like oil and gas.”

TBO