Saudi Arabia and the United States Announce Preliminary Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: The agreement was reached during Wright’s visit to Saudi Arabia and after his meeting with Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman.

 

Unlike the more comprehensive agreement proposed by the previous US administration, which included security guarantees and hopes for normalizing relations with Israel, the agreement focuses only on cooperation in developing Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program. More details of the agreement will be released later this year.

 

Wright emphasized that this cooperation will be carried out under the “123” agreement, an agreement under which American companies can cooperate with Saudi Arabia in developing a civilian nuclear industry, provided that they meet nine non-proliferation criteria.

 

Despite the progress made, challenges remain. Previous talks had stalled because Saudi Arabia was unwilling to sign an agreement that would rule out the possibility of enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. This initial agreement suggests that the two countries are finding a way to resolve these differences.