UAE and S. Korea signs nuclear agreement

The United Arab Emirates signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea on Monday to allow the transfer of technology and equipment to the Gulf Arab state, the official WAM news agency said.

The agreement will allow South Korean firms to compete with U.S. and French rivals for contracts under the UAE nuclear energy programme.

The agreement “stipulates that the government of South Korea would help the UAE in building its peaceful nuclear programme … over 20 years”, WAM reported.

Unlike its neighbour across the Gulf, Iran, the UAE has won Western backing for its nuclear energy plans that would help the world’s third-largest oil exporter meet rising demand for electricity without tapping export crude.

The deal was signed during a visit by South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo. The UAE plans to build a number of reactors to meet an expected requirement for an extra 40,000 megawatts of electricity by 2017.

The United States has been at odds with Iran over the Islamic Republic’s atomic plans, which Washington says are aimed at building a bomb, a charge Tehran denies vehemntly.

The UAE has vowed transparency. It said it would draw up legislation to govern the sector and establish a regulatory authority and an international advisory board of experts.

In May, U.S. President Barack Obama approved a nuclear energy deal with the UAE worth potentially billions of dollars to U.S. energy companies.

U.S. firm GE and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp, stand to secure a big share of the expected $40 billion market if the U.S. Congress approves the deal.

The UAE has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to have its first nuclear power plant ready in 2015, an IAEA director said last month. The IAEA believes this is optimistic, the director said.

French firms also plan to compete for the business. France’s Total, Suez, and state nuclear reactor maker Areva said last year they planned to develop two third-generation reactors in the UAE.

Source: Reuters