Jordan, US nearing nuclear deal

Sep 13 - The Jordan Times

Jordan and the US are closing in on a nuclear cooperation agreement (NCA) with a deal expected "within months", according to a senior government official.

Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khaled Toukan said officials are currently awaiting a signed letter from the US Department of State detailing Washington's latest position on the agreement, under which the US would lend official support for the Kingdom's nuclear programme.

"We seem to be approaching common ground with the USØ© we hope in the next few months we will be able to sign a deal," Toukan said in response to a question during a press conference on Friday.

According to Toukan, due to recent discussions, the two countries are reaching a "common understanding in the best interests of the two sides" on the framework of the agreement, which would pave the way for bilateral technology transfer.

"As a member of the NPT [nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] we stick to our rights," he stressed.

A contentious item believed to be stalling the deal is the enrichment or reprocessing fuel. According to media reports, American officials would prefer Jordan to renounce its right to enrich uranium despite the presence of uranium reserves in the Kingdom.

According to Toukan, the two sides are now nearing a deal that would "allow our rights under the NPT and provide fuel solutions that will satisfy the international community".

The country has no near-term plans of enriching or reprocessing fuel, Toukan stressed, citing costs and logistics.

"We never said we would be enriching fuel in Jordan today," Toukan told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of a NCA signing ceremony with Japan on Friday.

He explained that due to the relatively small scale of the nuclear power programme, even with the planned construction of four reactors, enriching fuel in the Kingdom is "economically infeasible".

However, he stressed that the country looks to retain the right guaranteed in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that in future decades the Kingdom could explore the possibility of a joint venture with an international partner to utilise the country's vast uranium resources.

The country is home to some 130,000 tonnes of uranium, most concentrated in the central and eastern regions and the remaining existing in phosphate deposits. The Kingdom's reserves represent 2 per cent of the known uranium ore in the world.

Under the 123 agreement signed between the UAE and the US last year, Abu Dhabi voluntarily waived its right under the NPT to enrich and reprocess uranium on its soil. Previous media reports and comments by officials have suggested that the US has been looking for a similar agreement with Jordan.

Jordan's peaceful nuclear power programme is seen as key to weaning the country off energy imports, which accounted for 96 per cent of energy consumed in 2009 at a cost of 13 per cent of the gross domestic product.

Nuclear energy has also been singled out as vital to water mega-projects such as Red Sea desalination and the Red-Dead Canal, which will require some 1,000 megawatts of electricity, according to estimates.

Jordan signed its first memorandum of understanding in the nuclear field, a precursor to an NCA, with the US in 2007.

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