The United Arab Emirates Nuclear Program and Proposed U.S. Nuclear Cooperation

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on a program to build civilian nuclear power plants and is seeking cooperation and technical assistance from the United States and others. During 2008 and early 2009, the Bush Administration and the UAE government negotiated and signed a memorandum of understanding and a proposed bilateral agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation pursuant to Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the proposed agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation with the UAE January 15, 2009. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg signed a new version of the agreement May 21; the Obama Administration submitted the proposed agreement to Congress the same day. Under the AEA, Congress has the opportunity to review such a proposed agreement for 90 days of continuous session, after which the agreement becomes effective unless, during that time, Congress adopts a joint resolution disapproving the agreement and the resolution becomes law. According to the Office of the Parliamentarian of the House of Representatives, the 90 days of continuous session for the proposed U.S.-UAE agreement expired October 17, 2009. The UAE cabinet approved the agreement October 26. The agreement entered into force after the two governments exchanged diplomatic notes December 17, 2009. The agreement text states the intent of both governments to cooperate in a number of areas including, but not limited to, the development of the UAE's "civilian nuclear energy use in a manner that contributes to global efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation" and, "the establishment of reliable sources of nuclear fuel for future civilian light water reactors deployed" in the UAE. Some Members of Congress had welcomed the UAE government's stated commitments not to pursue proliferation-sensitive nuclear capabilities, such as uranium enrichment or spent fuel reprocessing.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 23, 2009
Accession Number
ADA512979

Entities

People

  • Christopher M. Blanchard
  • Paul K. Kerr

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Department Of State
  • Fissile Materials
  • Fissionable Materials
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Middle East
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Power Plants
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security