16 May 2008
United States Supports Saudi Arabian Civil Nuclear Program
Energy, security top agenda in Bush’s second stop on Mideast visit
Washington -- President Bush met with Saudi King Abdullah to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations and announce a new agreement pledging U.S. support for Saudi Arabia as it builds a civil nuclear energy program that benefits its people, observes international nonproliferation standards and prevents the spread of nuclear weapons.
“This agreement will pave the way for Saudi Arabia's access to safe, reliable fuel sources for energy reactors and demonstrate Saudi leadership as a positive nonproliferation model for the region,” a May 16 White House fact sheet said. The agreement is one of four reached between Bush and Abdullah during a day of private talks at al Janadriyah, the King’s horse farm and retreat outside Riyadh.
As home to the world’s largest oil reserves, Saudi Arabia produces 7.5 million barrels of oil per day but seeks nuclear energy for use in industrial-scale desalinization and in medicine -- as showcased in first lady Laura Bush’s visit to a Saudi women's cancer clinic during the day -- and as an environmentally sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.
The United States will provide training and support to build a civil nuclear program that will operate according to guidelines established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the fact sheet. The agreement will be the first step toward building a comprehensive framework for future U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation similar to a March 2008 agreement with neighboring Bahrain. (See “Bahrain, United States to Cooperate on Nuclear Energy.”)
The agreement will also further Saudi efforts to formulate a joint nuclear technology program with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia’s plan for civil nuclear energy, as well as those of its Gulf neighbors, stands in marked contrast to the internationally controversial nuclear program of nearby Iran, says Bush’s National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.
“Iran, of course, got into the nuclear business in secret with a program outside the IAEA safeguards … almost calculated in a way to raise suspicions in the international community that they had something else in mind,” said Hadley.
As a further demonstration of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the safe pursuit of civil nuclear power, it also became the latest country to join the Proliferation Security Initiative, an 85-nation partnership established by the United States in 2003 to track and freeze shipments of banned weapons worldwide. Saudi Arabia also joined the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a 70-nation partnership launched in 2006 by Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen controls and enhance international cooperation in the name of nuclear safety.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth has become a terrorist target, as seen in the February 2006 attack on the Abqaiq complex. Al-Qaida subsequently claimed responsibility for the incident, in which operatives detonated two large car bombs, then unsuccessfully attempted the storm the facility, killing four security guards and wounding 10 others. A fourth U.S.-Saudi agreement will strengthen security ties by creating a joint commission tasked with further strengthening Saudi borders and coasts and expand cooperation with the Saudi Interior Ministry.
Bush will complete his Middle East tour in Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharm El-Sheikh, where he will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other regional leaders gathered for the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.
A White House fact sheet on the U.S.-Saudi agreements is available from America.gov.
