An annual meeting to review the status of the implementation of an Integrated Work Plan (IWP) for the advancement of the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear power programme convened at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on 11-12 February 2014.
The review meeting brought together senior representatives from key UAE stakeholder authorities and IAEA officials to review the progress of the UAE – IAEA Integrated Work Plan (IWP) covering the period of 2013 to 2017, which is the projected date of operation of the first nuclear power reactor.
The two-day coordination meeting will assess the UAE’s progress in meeting the goals set out under the IWP, and consolidate the work plan for next five years. The course of the meeting will update and revise the plan, so as to reflect changes and deriving priorities that have become present since the UAE nuclear power programme moved ahead with the construction of its second nuclear reactor in May 2013.
Participants of the meeting includes representatives from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KU), as well as IAEA officials from the Department of Technical Cooperation, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards.
“IAEA is working now on developing a case study of the UAE’s successful peaceful nuclear programme,” highlighted Anne Starz, Head of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy, during the opening of the meeting.
The IWP provides a framework through which the IAEA will coordinate its work with all stakeholders and role-players of the UAE nuclear power programme in light of developing the country’s required nuclear power infrastructure. These tasks will be conducted in cooperation with all departments of the IAEA.
The IWP also highlights the scope of the IAEA assistance to the UAE in the field of nuclear power, focusing on national nuclear capability, nuclear power infrastructure, radiation safety and environment protection, emergency response, and radioactive waste management.
Its objective is to define, in an integrated and comprehensive manner, all needs related to the UAE nuclear power programme and the IAEA’s technical support to these requirements.
The implementation of the IWP 2013-2017 is in full harmony with recommendations from both the Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) and the Integrated Regulatory Review Services (IRRS) missions previously conducted in the UAE, as well as recommendations from specific experts and other IAEA missions. The Working Plan was developed and adopted in June 2013. All activities, issues and five-year work plan outlined under the IWP 2013 -2017 are integrated within national Technical Cooperation (TC) projects.
Discussions of the review meeting resulted in an updated version of the UAE-IWP 2013-2017.
