The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and France signed here on Tuesday a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, which will lead the oil-rich Gulf country into a new era of nuclear energy.
According to reports by the official Emirates News Agency, the landmark agreement was signed by the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.
It provides a framework for cooperation between the two countries in the evaluation and potential use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Under the agreement, the UAE and France will set up a high-level joint committee to oversee cooperation in the areas of nuclear power generation, water desalination, basic and applied research agronomy, earth sciences, medicine and industry.
"The UAE is conducting wide consultations to create a responsible framework for the evaluation and possible implementation of a peaceful nuclear program, ensuring compliance with the highest standards of non-proliferation, safety and security," Sheikh Abdullah said.
The UAE government is undertaking high-level government-to-government consultations with the governments of the United States, Germany, the France, Russia, China, Britain, Japan, the Republic of Korea as well as direct consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its nuclear power project, he added.
"It is the UAE government's hope that the final policy may also serve as a replicable model for non-nuclear countries to evaluate and potentially implement a peaceful domestic nuclear program with full support and backing of the international community," he said.
The UAE foreign minister said that his country's peaceful nuclear initiatives are within the UAE's commitment to be part of the initiative by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to explore the potential for peaceful nuclear power generation in the GCC.
The signing of the agreement is one of two major deals to be reached during the state visit to the Gulf country by French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
It is reported that France and the UAE also signed an agreement which grants the French navy a permanent military base in the UAE.
With the pact, France is able to station its naval units in the UAE across the Gulf from Iran, like the United States and a few other Western nations with a military base in the crucial oil-producing region.
The agreement adds to France's long-standing military cooperation with the Arab Gulf states including the UAE and Qatar.
The UAE is the last stop of Sarkozy's first Gulf tour since taking office last May, which has taken him to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
During his stay in Riyadh, Sarkozy and Saudi King Abdullah signed four cooperation agreements, including one for expanding oil and gas cooperation, two others for university training in France and professional training, and a fourth one for "political dialogue."
In Doha, France and Qatar signed two memoranda of understanding on cooperation on traditional energies as well as nuclear power and renewable energies.
Source:Xinhua
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