U.S. nuke energy experts to visit Egypt: report

A delegation of U.S. nuclear energy experts would visit Egypt soon to share their expertise with their Egyptian counterparts, Egypt's official news agency MENA quoted U. S. Ambassador to Egypt Francis Ricciardone as saying on Thursday.

Ricciardone said that the experts were to arrive in Egypt "soon to share their experience," adding that his country was ready to help Egypt relaunch its civil nuclear program. But he did not specify when the experts would arrive.

The U.S. ambassador said on Sept. 21 that his country would cooperate with Egypt if it decided to develop nuclear energy.

On Tuesday, visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also said that her country supported Egypt's plan to develop peaceful nuclear energy.

"We are supporters of states that may wish to go this way, and we would be pleased to discuss this with Egypt," she said.

Egypt started very limited nuclear technological research in 1957, but its nuclear program was frozen in 1986 in the aftermath of the 1986 accident at the Soviet nuclear plant in Chernobyl.

And in 1968, Egypt signed the international nuclear Non- Proliferation treaty and officially supports the elimination of nuclear weapons in the region.

Both Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal Mubarak said during a three-day conference of the ruling National Democratic Party, which began on Sept. 19, that Egypt would continue developing nuclear energy program.

Source: Xinhua