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ABU DHABI, U.A.E. — Inhabitants of this oil-rich desert nation have developed a ravenous appetite for luxury and novelty. They live in oversized villas on man-made islands shaped like palm fronds. They love gas-guzzling SUVs. They play golf on lush courses that can require up to 4 million gallons of water a day to stay green. And when summer temperatures soar over 100 degrees, they bundle up in their winter parkas and ski the snowy slopes of an indoor mountain. GCC to Develop Civilian Nuclear Energy. RIYADH, 11 December 2006 — The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) yesterday announced plans to seek nuclear energy technology for peaceful purposes while repeating its demand to make the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. “The states of the Gulf region have a right to possess nuclear energy technology for peaceful purposes,” the final communiqué issued after the GCC summit said.
GCC leaders said they had ordered a “GCC-wide study be conducted to formulate a joint program in the field of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, in keeping with international standards and regulations,” said the communiqué read out by GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah. Speaking to reporters after the summit, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the GCC states’ intention to pursue civilian nuclear technology was not a “threat” to anyone.
UAE Embassy in Washington, DC. The UAE is pursuing a peaceful, civilian nuclear energy program that upholds the highest standards of safety, security, nonproliferation and operational transparency.
Government officials, nonproliferation advocates, and energy experts worldwide have called the UAE approach a gold standard for countries interested in exploring nuclear energy for the first time. The Need for Electricity The development of a peaceful, civilian nuclear energy program was based on an in-depth evaluation of the UAE’s future energy needs.
An initial study determined that national annual peak demand for electricity is likely to rise to more than 40,000 megawatts by 2020, reflecting a cumulative annual growth rate of about nine percent from 2007.