UAE Contributes 10 Mln USD to IAEA Nuclear Fuel Bank Proposal

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has contributed 10 million U.S. dollars to a nuclear fuel bank proposal that calls for a dedicated low-enriched uranium stockpile to be owned and administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the official Emirates News Agency reported on Thursday.

The proposal was made in 2006 by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), an organization devoted to non-proliferation efforts. Under the proposal, the nuclear fuel bank aims to provide member states of IAEA with assurances of nuclear fuel supply.

Given the UAE government policy commitments to the highest standards of non-proliferation and in support for global non- proliferation goals, the government of the United Arab Emirates would like to express its political and financial support for the proposed IAEA-administered international low-enriched uranium fuel bank, the country's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed al- Nahyan said in his letter to IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei.

I welcome the UAE's contribution to the establishment of a nuclear fuel reserve under IAEA auspices, ElBaradei was quoted as saying.

The UAE donation marks another important milestone towards supporting mechanisms for non-discriminatory, non-political assurances of supply of fuel for nuclear power plants, he added.

The UAE's contribution brings the total committed amount for the IAEA-administered nuclear fuel bank proposal to 115 million dollars, leaving 35 million dollars to be raised to reach the NTI plan's initial stated target of 150 million dollars.

Previous contributions for the fuel bank proposal include 50 million dollars made by NTI, 50 million dollars by the United States and 5 million dollars by Norway.

In April, the UAE released a white paper on its policy on potential development of peaceful nuclear energy.

The white paper expressed the UAE government's pledges to renounce the development of any domestic enrichment or reprocessing capabilities in favor of long-term arrangements for the external supply of nuclear fuel.

The UAE will also follow a set of guiding principles including complete operational transparency, the highest standards of non- proliferation, safety and security, and close coordination with the IAEA.

Source: CRIEnglish