Minister of Energy: The Kingdom continues to implement the national nuclear energy project

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, confirmed that the Kingdom will continue to implement the national project for safe nuclear energy and build the first station to achieve sustainable development within the framework of international obligations.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasizes the importance of the nuclear security and safety system, and that the responsibility for maintaining this system within any country falls entirely on the state in accordance with its national requirements and international obligations, announcing that it is moving towards benefiting from nuclear energy and its radioactive applications for peaceful purposes, given the importance of its role in social and economic development.

This came in the speech of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia delivered by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; Minister of Energy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, today, at the (68) session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held in the Austrian capital; Vienna.

In his speech, he conveyed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s appreciation for the valuable efforts made by the Agency, led by its Director General Rafael Grossi, in developing the Agency’s technical capabilities and launching distinguished initiatives, which enhances its role in providing technical support to member states, to build their own programs, and develop human capabilities in the field of nuclear technology and its regulatory areas, indicating that the holding of this conference confirms the pivotal role of the International Atomic Energy Agency in enhancing international cooperation to harness atomic energy in the service of development and world peace. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that “given the importance of the role of nuclear energy in social and economic development, the Kingdom is moving towards benefiting from nuclear energy and its radioactive applications for peaceful purposes, and continues to implement its national nuclear energy project with all its components, including the project to build the first nuclear power plant in the Kingdom; to contribute to shaping the national energy mix and achieving sustainable national development, in accordance with national requirements and within the framework of international obligations.” The Minister of Energy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission, explained that the Kingdom has completed the basic administrative readiness components related to nuclear regulatory work, and the requirements for achieving the obligations in the comprehensive safeguards agreement, and submitted to the Agency in July 2024 a request to suspend the Small Quantities Protocol and move to the full implementation of the Safeguards Agreement, and that it is currently working with the Agency to complete the subsidiary procedures for the actual suspension of the Small Quantities Protocol by the end of December of this year 2024. He pointed out that the Kingdom confirms its continued commitment to the legally binding international requirements related to its national nuclear energy project, and that the Kingdom’s national systems and institutional structure meet the requirements for monitoring nuclear and technical materials and export control in line with its obligations and fulfill its important role in the international system for non-proliferation, extending his thanks to the Director General of the Agency and his Deputy for Safeguards Management for the efforts that contributed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaching this level.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced that within the framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s interest in preparing for nuclear and radiological emergencies and enhancing the ability to confront them, and in recognition of the Agency’s original role in this sensitive and vital field, the Kingdom has decided to host an international conference on nuclear emergencies organized by the Agency at the end of 2025 in the capital, Riyadh, and its aspiration for countries to cooperate in making this conference a success, to provide a qualitative addition to the integration of global efforts seeking to confront nuclear and radiological emergencies, as an extension of the efforts of the Agency and its International Incident and Emergency Center. He pointed out that the Kingdom’s participation in enhancing radiation monitoring and early warning capabilities for nuclear accidents in this international center, by providing the opportunity to benefit from the national capabilities it possesses in the international radiation monitoring and early warning system, and the Kingdom is also pleased to allow the Agency and the International Incident and Emergency Center to benefit from its capabilities in other aspects, including predicting the environmental repercussions of nuclear and radiological accidents. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that within the framework of developing the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Agency, the Kingdom deposited on August 7 of this year its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Agency. In this regard, the Kingdom is committed to a number of international documents related to nuclear fields, including those related to security, safety and nuclear safeguards. The Kingdom is also cooperating with the Agency to host a workshop to introduce the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and Radioactive Waste Management, to which non-member states will be invited to enhance international efforts seeking the universality of this Convention. The Minister of Energy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission confirmed that the Kingdom benefited from the Agency’s Integrated Regulatory Review Mission, which completed its mission in October 2023, and contributed effectively to evaluating national nuclear regulatory efforts and evaluating the integration of national nuclear regulatory work in a comprehensive manner, noting that the mission praised the Kingdom’s adherence to radiation safety standards, and noted the development of its nuclear and radiation regulatory framework, and its commitment to continuing to develop practices in accordance with the best international standards. I hereby extend my thanks to the Agency and its Director General for providing these distinguished services, which practically confirm the vital and important role played by the Agency. The Minister of Energy concluded his speech by emphasizing the Kingdom’s importance of the nuclear security and safety system, indicating that the responsibility for maintaining this system within any country falls entirely on the state in accordance with its national requirements and international obligations. In this context, we are pleased to see the fruits of the initiative to establish the IAEA International Nuclear Security Training Centre in Seibersdorf, to which the Kingdom was the largest contributor and financial support, and its tangible impact in strengthening the national capabilities of member states and the global nuclear security system.