25 Mar (NucNet): The US has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on nuclear energy cooperation with Bahrain to “ensure the stability and diversity” of the Gulf state’s energy supplies.
The MOU was signed yesterday by Bahrain’s foreign minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
A statement issued by Bahrain’s embassy in Washington DC said its planned development of nuclear energy will be in line with commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and that the MOU is “fully consistent” with the country’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In a separate announcement, the US said King Hamad of Bahrain would hold talks at the White House with president George Bush today (25 March) on a range of issues.
According to the Bahrain government, the country’s decision to develop a domestic nuclear power programme was discussed by the minister for works and the chairman of the Electricity and Water Authority, Fahmi Al Jowder, at a meeting of the Arab League earlier this year in Cairo, Egypt.
The government said energy ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Algeria, Sudan and Syria also attended and agreed to hold a workshop on nuclear energy in Cairo from 6 April 2008 with the aim of developing a “strategic plan” up to 2020 under guidance from the IAEA.
– by John Shepherd
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'Speed Up Nuclear Plans' For Jordan, Says King (News in Brief No. 22, 29 August 2007)
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