In a bid to promote its peaceful civilian nuclear program, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. hosted an official delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in January 2013.
The delegates toured the Barakah site — selected for the country’s civil nuclear energy program — where they received a comprehensive update on construction and the achievement of key milestones.
“The U.A.E. is making safe and consistent progress in the development of the peaceful nuclear energy program. … We are very satisfied with the quality of the information we have received,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said.
He praised the Emirati government for its transparency in developing the program, stressing that “the U.A.E. plays a leading role among the nations which are developing nascent programs.”
He believes these efforts will serve as a model for other countries willing to develop peaceful nuclear energy programs.
The visit was an important benchmark for the country’s program, said Hamad al-Kaabi, the U.A.E.’s permanent representative to the IAEA. “The U.A.E. has been working in close cooperation with the IAEA and has followed IAEA’s guidance, policies and procedures to develop the national nuclear program,” he said.
U.A.E. Foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan hailed the agency’s support for Emirati efforts to develop a peaceful nuclear energy program. He emphasized that cooperation with the international body is a pillar of the U.A.E.’s peaceful program.