IAEA head meets UAE foreign minister in Dubai
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency praised the UAE's nuclear energy program.
Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with the head of the world’s leading nuclear watchdog today.
Al Nahyan held a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi at the Expo 2020 Dubai. The two discussed cooperation and the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear program, the official Emirates News Agency reported.
The UAE began operating a nuclear power plant last year, becoming the first country in the Arab world to do so. The nuclear power program is peaceful, and Abu Dhabi was partly motivated by a desire to diversify away from oil.
The timing of the meeting is notable given the ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear energy program in Vienna. Grossi warned yesterday that Iran’s present nuclear capabilities are different from 2015, when the Iran nuclear deal came into effect. The IAEA and Iran also agreed today to install new cameras at a centrifuge site. The cameras are there for the IAEA to monitor Iran’s nuclear energy program.
