Riyadh, February 22: France and Saudi Arabia will sign on Tuesday an agreement for bilateral cooperation in developing the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The agreement will be signed by Hisham Yamani, chairman of the King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energy, and the French minister in charge of industry and energy, Eric Besson, a French Embassy statement said.
French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bertrand Besancenot pointed out that France, where 80 percent of electricity comes from nuclear power plants, had the world’s best technology in the field. He called the agreement an example of the two countries’ “strategic partnership”.
“It means that we are sharing the world’s best technology and helping provide the transfer of skills to the Saudi people.”
“Another example of this partnership would be if France wins the Haramain train contract between Makkah and Madinah,” he added. “Of course, we hope to win this giant SR30 billion project, because we have again the best technology in the world in this field. Part of this contract will be to train Saudi technician to operate the trains. If we win, we will not only transfer technology, but we will transfer know-how as well,” Besancenot said.
Tuesday’s agreement will lay down the basis for extensive cooperation in the application of nuclear energy specifically in the production of electricity, desalination of water, qualifying human resources in the peaceful use of atomic energy and the promotion of nuclear energy applications in the sectors pf agriculture, biology, archaeology, medicine and industry.
The statement said the cooperation will take the form of exchanging and qualifying scientific and technical teams, their participation in joint activities of research and engineering and exchange of information.
A nuclear deal with France has been expected for the past two years following an offer by French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his visit to the Kingdom in 2008 to help develop nuclear energy. In May 2009, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde predicted that it would be signed “soon,” following meetings in Riyadh with Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and others. Then there were several suggestions last year that a deal was imminent, only again to be delayed.
Last month, the head of the nuclear reactor maker Areva, Anne Lauvergeon, who was in Riyadh for talks on the project, announced her company would sign a partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Binladin Group for nuclear and solar energy.
At the time, Yamani said that Total Saudi power demand was expected to triple to 120 gigawatts (GW) by 2050 from around 40 GW in 2010. “Nuclear and renewable energy will reduce dependence on fossil fuels by 2050,” Yamani said, adding that nuclear and renewable energy would free up more oil for exports. “Saudi Arabia will need to invest upfront in nuclear energy, but the oil saved will contribute significantly to the costs.”
Earlier this month, SBG confirmed that it was about to sign a deal with Arreva to build a nuclear reactor in the Kingdom.
In 2009, a French consortium of EDF, Areva, GDF Suez and Total failed to win a $40 billion contract for a nuclear power station in Abu Dhabi. It was won by a South Korean consortium.
——Agencies