Saudi Arabia okays nuclear policy

Jeddah : The Saudi government has approved its national nuclear programme policy as tabled by Khaled Al-Faleh, energy minister and chairman of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy.

The government reviewed the policy in its cabinet session on Tuesday and published new guidelines to ensure that nuclear development for peaceful use must comply with all legislation, conventions and international agreements.

The government called on all involved to uphold transparency in organizational and operational matters and to comply with nuclear safety and security processes through an independent monitoring system.

The government also called for compliance with the international standards for nuclear waste disposal — and to ensure the continuity of the programme through developing national capability in nuclear energy to maintain and improve the sector in Saudi.

Al-Faleh said in October that the nuclear programme would start by building two reactors, each producing between 1.2 and 1.6 gigawatts of electricity.

The Saudi Cabinet says its nuclear programme will be in “full compliance with the principle of transparency” and meet nuclear safety standards “in accordance with an independent regulatory and supervisory framework.”