17 November 2009
“Now only a few technical steps, like exchange of diplomatic notes, are left to operationalise the agreement,” the minister told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of a conference here on Energy Security in the Gulf.
The deal, commonly known as the 123 Agreement, was signed on January 15 in Washington by the then US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, and the UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before being referred to bilateral legislative processes.
The US Congress had 90 days to review the deal, a period that gave over in October. There were reports that the UAE Cabinet too had approved the accord in the last week of October.
But this is the first time that a UAE minister has confirmed the milestone. “The 123 agreement has become a reality,” Gargash said. “The highest bodies of both the countries have approved it.”
Asked when the diplomatic notes would be exchanged, he said, “It will be done soon.” The UAE is working out an ambitious nuclear power programme to expand its energy mix and reduce its reliance on oil.
According to estimates, the UAE’s annual energy requirement will go up to 40,000 megawatts by 2020. It currently generates 15,000 megawatts.
Nuclear reactors are expected to have a significant share in power generation by 2020, along with the seven per cent that the renewable energy sector is likely to contribute.
The UAE’s first nuclear reactor should go on stream in 2017, Hamad Al Kaabi, UAE’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, had stated recently.
Several firms from countries like the US and France have been pushing for nuclear contracts from the UAE. The US-based GE made its intent publicly known recently.
Though there are strong indications that the deal for the first reactor will be announced soon, Al Kaabi had declined to give a time-frame for any such announcement.
The 123 Agreement has a term of 30 years and permits the transfer of nuclear material, equipment including reactors, and components for civil nuclear research and power production, subject to subsequent individual licencing, as per the testimonies made before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 7.
The UAE has made a commitment on nuclear non-proliferation. Describing the Agreement as a ‘ground-breaking’, US officials had said that the US Administration valued the non-proliferation component of agreement.
For the first time in an agreement of this type, the UAE has voluntarily agreed to forego uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel.
Additionally, for the first time, the agreement provides that before the US licences export of nuclear material, equipment, components, or technology, the UAE shall bring into force the Additional Protocol to its safeguards agreements with the IAEA.
The US officials had said in their testimony, “The UAE is an example of a country that has concluded that indigenous fuel cycle capabilities are not needed to fully enjoy the benefits of nuclear energy.”
