British official backs UAE's nuclear ambitions

posted on 02/08/2012: 1070 views

The UAE is well placed to develop a peaceful nuclear energy project, a British official has said.

Barbara Judge, chairperson of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, said she believes it is necessary for the UAE to push ahead with plans for a nuclear power project as the country needs an alternative energy source and oil prices are likely to rise once the current global financial crisis passes.

The UAE has signed agreements with France and the United States to develop a peaceful nuclear power capability in partnership with these responsible nations.

The move makes the UAE the first Gulf state to announce its peaceful nuclear ambitions.

As constructing a nuclear power plant takes a considerable amount of time, the UAE needs to start work on the project as soon as possible, Judge said in an interview with Oxford Business Group Magazine, to be published in Abu Dhabi Report 2009.

She praised the policy adopted by the UAE in the field of renewable energy and its adherence to international standards in the implementation of its peaceful nuclear energy programme.

Judge said she was closely following the steps adopted by the UAE since the announcement of its intention to set up a peaceful nuclear reactor by 2017.

She expressed confidence that the UAE is in possession of all the fundamentals that qualify it to implement such an ambitious project.

Judge said the political stability and geographic location of the UAE make it one of the best locations in the world for a peaceful nuclear project. – Emirates News Agency, WAM

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