KSA, France discuss cooperation in nuclear energy

A Saudi-French joint technical committee met at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) for the second time recently to discuss cooperation regarding the ongoing civil nuclear program in the Kingdom.
The first joint technical committee meeting was held last year in France after the two countries reached an agreement on the peaceful use of atomic energy.
The agenda of bilateral discussion included means of strengthening mutual cooperation in the field of research, development and innovation in nuclear energy, human capabilities training and education, nuclear organisational programming, and nuclear waste management, according to a KACARE spokesperson.
"It has been agreed that a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) should be developed relating to these issues at the present time, so that they may be signed in the near future," he said.
Earlier, KACARE Vice-President Waleed Hussein Abulfaraj received in his office Laurent Michel, director-general for energy and climate change at the French Ministry of Environment. Bertrand Bzansno, the French ambassador in Riyadh, attended the opening session of the meeting.
Those attended included representatives from the atomic sector, representatives of the research, development and innovation sector, along with representatives of legal and international cooperation matters from the Kingdom. From the French side, participants included representatives from the Environment Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the French Embassy in Riyadh, Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management and the International Institute for Nuclear Energy.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the French side welcomed the idea of hosting the 3rd meeting of the technical committee in Paris.
Notably, the Kingdom signed an agreement with France in 2011 with the latter offering atomic know-how and training for local staff as it seeks to meet growing demand for electricity by accelerating the implementation of domestic atomic and renewable energy projects.