LONDON: Amid fears that a dangerously-charged, brand new nuclear race is about to begin in the volatile, conflict-ridden West Asia region, the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed plans to help multiple Arab countries develop domestic atomic energy programmes.
Tomihiro Taniguchi, deputy director-general of the Vienna-headquartered International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sparked much speculation and a raging controversy in Western capitals on Saturday with his bald acknowledgement of civilian nuclearisation plans by Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia to the London-based Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).
Taniguchi, one of the IAEA's six deputy director-generals with a brief that specifically covers nuclear safety and security, said, "Some Middle East states, including Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, have shown initial interests to use nuclear power primarily for (water) desalination purposes".
Confirming that the IAEA had "held preliminary discussions with these governments (and) we will offer them help under our technical advisory programme to conduct a study for the (proposed) power plants," Taniguchi added that their interest was "at a tertiary stage and the main driver is the use of a more efficient energy system".
The developments sparked new concern across Europe with nuclear proliferation experts darkly explaining the sudden drive for nuclear expertise by an oil-rich region as a clear indication the Arabs wanted a nuclear "security hedge". Mark Fitzpatrick, proliferation expert at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, was quoted to say that the West Asian region's headlong rush to go nuclear must be seen in the context of Iran's newly-embraced "path to a nuclear weapons capability".
The IAEA officially refused to comment to TOI on the raging speculation about a new-nuclearisation in one of the world's arguably most unstable regions, where Europe fears nuclear weapons would exacerbate conflicts that have raged for centuries over land, ideology and religion. But informed sources conversant with the IAEA's thinking, dismissed fears of a new West Asian nuclear arms race as "bullshit". The sources told TOI that comparing "civilian nuclear energy applications with military ones was to compare apples with pears".
El Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica informó que esa agencia ha sido notificada por cuatro países árabes que desean desarrollar programas civiles de energía nuclear, de acuerdo con el diputado general Tomihiro Taniguchi. Los países interesados son Egipto, Arabia Saudita, Marruecos y Argelia.

El señor Taniguchi dijo que la agencia ya ha tenido discusiones preliminares con estos gobiernos y ha manifestado que les ofrecerá ayuda técnica. Los países mencionados usarán la energía nuclear para plantas de desalinización de agua.

Otros dos países que han manifestado interés son Túnez y Emiratos Árabes Unidos. La ley internacional permite el uso de energía nuclear para la generación de electricidad bajo la supervisión del Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear como lo hace Irán.

El anuncio significa un giro en la política del mundo árabe, que mantenía una agenda de un Oriente Medio libre de tecnología nuclear. Los países del Norte de África pueden argumentar la necesidad de la tecnología nuclear para la generación de electricidad, pero ese argumento es más difícil de usar para los países del golfo Pérsico, que son ricos en recursos energéticos.