Jordan, Japan to ink nuclear deal this weekend

Sep 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Taylor Luck Jordan Times, Amman

Jordan and Japan will sign a long-awaited nuclear cooperation agreement (NCA) this weekend, paving the way for expertise exchange and technology transfer, according to the Kingdom's atomic energy commission.

The deal to be signed on Friday will allow for the exchange of nuclear expertise and will also permit Japanese companies to sell nuclear technology to the Kingdom, the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission said in a statement.

Japan currently generates one-third of its electricity from nuclear power, with 55 reactors producing over 49,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Officials believe Japanese expertise can play a significant role in assisting the Kingdom in establishing and running its first nuclear reactor and future plants, which have been planned to reduce the country's reliance on costly energy imports.

Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is part of a joint consortium with French firm AREVA offering technology under consideration for the Kingdom's first nuclear power plant. The NCA is a prerequisite for their bid to move forward.

The Kingdom currently has nuclear cooperation agreements with eight countries including France, Spain, China, South Korea, Canada, Russia, the UK and Argentina.