Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium as nuclear program advances
The Saudi Arabian government announced on Monday further development of its nuclear program, according to Reuters. Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman outlined plans to enrich and sell uranium.
He mentioned that Riyadh will continue its efforts to build the country's first nuclear power plant, which will be the second in the region.
"We will enrich uranium and then sell the intermediate product for nuclear fuel production," bin Salman stated during a conference in the city of Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian government aims to invest in nuclear energy
As part of raising funds for the construction of the nuclear power plant, the authorities in Riyadh also intend to increase the export of mineral resources.
The Saudi nuclear program began in 2010, and Riyadh is expanding it in cooperation with companies primarily from Japan and South Korea. Additionally, at the end of the previous decade, an agreement was reached with the Chinese corporation China National Nuclear Corporation to search for and exploit uranium deposits in Saudi Arabia.
Reuters highlighted that as recently as 2018, bin Salman stated that Saudi authorities would make decisions regarding the development of their own nuclear weapons program depending on Iran's stance on the matter.
The only currently operational nuclear power plant on the Arabian Peninsula is located in the United Arab Emirates, and it is also the only such facility in Arab countries. When opening its first unit in April 2021, UAE authorities committed not to enrich uranium or process spent nuclear fuel.
