IAEA Director General visits UAE

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano made an official visit to United Arab Emirates from 28 - 30 January 2013.

 
 
During the visit, the Director General visited UAE’s first Nuclear Power Plant construction site at Barakah to review the progress of the country’s nuclear power programme. The Director General held a number of meetings with high-level Government officials to discuss issues of mutual interest, as well as UAE’s ongoing cooperation with the Agency.
 
On Tuesday, 29 January 2013, the Director General met with UAE Foreign Minister, H.H Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They discussed the latest developments in the UAE’s peaceful nuclear programme and steps taken by the UAE Government in relation to adoption of lessons learned from Fukushima Daiichi accident.
 
They further discussed Agency’s efforts to advance nuclear safety globally and its activities in supporting non-proliferation.
 
The Director General praised the UAE for its successful and transparent efforts in developing nuclear power programme. "The UAE plays a leading role among the nations which are developing new programs”, Mr. Amano commented.
 
The Director General along with the IAEA officials also visited the construction site of the Barakah Nuclear Facility, where the delegation was received by Ambassador Hamad Alkaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the IAEA, and Mohamed Al Hammadi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC).
 
During the visit to Barakah site, the delegation was provided with a comprehensive update on the development of the construction of the Unit 1 and achieved key milestones by senior officials of ENEC and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), UAE’s prime contractor to build and operate its nuclear power plant.
 
"The UAE is making safe and consistent progress in the development of the peaceful nuclear energy program," said Yukiya Amano. "The IAEA delegation would like to thank the UAE government for providing us with the opportunity to visit Barakah and assess the development of the project. We are very satisfied with the quality of the information we have received," he added.
 
Ambassador Alkaabi highlighted, "The visit of the IAEA delegation headed by Director General Yukiya Amano is an important milestone to the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program."
 
"The UAE has been working in close cooperation with the IAEA and has followed IAEA's guidance, policies and procedures to develop the national nuclear program. Our policy continues to guide our work in a transparent and committed manner where the IAEA is a close partner in the program,” he added.
 
The Director General expressed the hope that the UAE would support other developing nations on peaceful uses of nuclear applications noting that “The UAE’s safe and consistent progress in the introduction of nuclear power can serve as a model for other countries considering a nuclear power program.”