Expert says Jordan can be nuclear industry hub

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday met with a delegation from the International Advisory Group (IAG), tasked with reviewing Jordan’s progress in implementing its nuclear programme.

The King expressed his appreciation for IAG members' views and recommendations on developing Jordan's nuclear programme for peaceful purposes and on guaranteeing the programme's highest safety standards.

The Monarch stressed the importance of guaranteeing high profitability in producing nuclear energy that would increase the national economy's competitiveness and ensure reasonable costs of electricity generation.

He noted, in this regard, that the project has to be implemented in partnership with the private sector and with international financial support, to avoid placing any additional burdens on the Treasury.

His Majesty called for benefiting from the latest technologies the world is constantly witnessing in the sector, to enable Jordan to build its programme according to the latest international technological standards.

Khaled Toukan, chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, presented a briefing on work progress in Jordan's nuclear programme that includes exploring and mining uranium, Jordan's nuclear reactor for research and training at the Jordan University for Science and Technology, and building the nuclear energy station for generating electricity. 

Toukan reviewed the programme's significance in diversifying energy resources of the Kingdom, which imports most of the energy needs.

For their part, IAG members noted that the Kingdom possesses the necessary human resources and infrastructure to be a regional hub for nuclear energy, especially since the country now has a nuclear reactor and the recently-inaugurated Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East.