ISLAMABAD:
The United States and Saudi Arabia are set to sign a preliminary agreement to collaborate on Riyadh’s efforts to develop a civil nuclear industry, a senior Saudi diplomat in Pakistan revealed on Sunday, citing a statement from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
In a tweet on the social media platform X, Saudi Press Attache Dr Naif Al-Otaibi referenced the US energy secretary’s statement, which confirmed that Washington and Riyadh would soon formalize an agreement to invest in energy and civil nuclear technology.
Following a meeting with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday, Wright told reporters that the two countries are on “a pathway” to reaching an agreement to jointly develop Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear programme.
On his first visit to the kingdom as energy secretary, part of a tour of energy-producing Gulf states, Wright indicated that further details of the memorandum detailing energy cooperation between Riyadh and Washington would be disclosed later this year.
“For a US partnership and involvement in nuclear here, there will definitely be a 123 agreement … there’s lots of ways to structure a deal that will accomplish both the Saudi objectives and the American objectives,” he said.
A so-called 123 agreement with Riyadh refers to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is required to permit the US government and American companies to work with entities in the kingdom to develop a civil nuclear industry.
It specifies nine non-proliferation criteria a state must meet to keep it from using the technology to develop nuclear arms or transfer sensitive materials to others. Wright said that the Saudi authorities have not agreed to the requirements under the act.
(WITH INPUT FROM REUTERS)
