Saudi Arabia is seeking uranium production and enrichment for its planned nuclear power program, the kingdom's new Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.
'We are proceeding with it cautiously… We are experimenting with two nuclear reactors,' he said in Abu Dhabi while attending the 24th World Energy Congress.
The prince, appointed to the energy post over the weekend, said Saudi Arabia wants to go ahead with the full cycle of the nuclear program, including the production and enrichment of uranium for fuel for the purpose of power production.
With the aim of reducing the kingdom's dependence on fossil fuel, the minister said the country wants to tap nuclear technology for peaceful uses.
In January, Khalid bin Saleh Al-Sultan, president of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, said that the kingdom had received offers to build two atomic reactors from five countries, the US, China, Russia, France and South Korea, at cost averaging around $7 billion.
The kingdom also plans to produce 3.45 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2020.
Anadolu Agency
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