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Mahesh

20/05/24 10:33 AM IST

US-Saudi civil nuclear deal

In News
  • White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will visit Saudi Arabia this weekend for talks expected to touch on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
Civil Nuclear cooperation agreement
  • Under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the United States may negotiate agreements to engage in significant civil nuclear cooperation with other nations.
  • It specifies nine nonproliferation criteria those states must meet to keep them from using the technology to develop nuclear arms or transfer sensitive materials to others.
  • As the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia at first glance is not an obvious candidate for a nuclear pact typically aimed at building power plants to generate electricity.
  • Riyadh might wish to develop nuclear expertise in case it someday wishes to acquire nuclear weapons despite the safeguards enshrined in any deal with Washington to prevent this.
  • The Saudi crown prince has long said that if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would follow suit, a stance that has fueled deep concern among arms control advocates and some U.S. lawmakers over a possible US-Saudi civil nuclear deal.
  • The Sunni Muslim kingdom and Shi’ite revolutionary Iran have been at odds for decades.
Benefits to US
  • The Biden administration has made no secret of its hope to broker a long-shot, multi-part arrangement leading Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations.
  • It believes Saudi support for normalization may hinge partly on striking a civil nuclear deal.
  • The strategic benefits would be to shore up Israel’s security, build a wider coalition against Iran and reinforce U S ties to one of the wealthiest Arab nations at a time when China is seeking to extend its influence in the Gulf.
  • The commercial benefit would be to put U.S. industry in a prime spot to win contracts to build Saudi nuclear power plants, as U.S. atomic companies compete with Russia, China and other countries for global business.
Key Issue
  • A key issue is whether Washington might agree to build a uranium enrichment facility on Saudi territory, when it might do so, and whether Saudi personnel might have access to it or it would be run solely by U.S. staff in a “black box” arrangement.
  • Without safeguards built into an agreement, Saudi Arabia, which has uranium ore, could theoretically use an enrichment facility to produce highly enriched uranium, which, if purified enough, can yield fissile material for bombs.
  • Another issue is whether Riyadh would agree to make a Saudi investment in a US-based and US-owned uranium enrichment plant and to hire US companies to build Saudi nuclear reactors.
Source- Indian Express

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