Saudi Arabia, China to cooperate on nuclear energy

Saudi Arabia and China have signed multiple agreements to cooperate on nuclear energy projects, as the world’s top oil exporter explores means to diversify its energy mix, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Thursday.

The announcement came during an official visit of Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) on Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s leading state nuclear project developer China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) to further promote their cooperation to explore and assess uranium and thorium resources, SPA said.

State-owned Saudi Technology Development and Investment Co. (Taqnia) also signed a deal with China Nuclear Engineering Group Corp to develop water desalination projects using high-temperature and gas-cooled reactors in the Kingdom.

In a separate report, SPA said that Hashim Yamani, president of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) met with officials in China on Aug. 23-24.

They discussed cooperating in areas such as a pre-feasibility study to build the first two nuclear reactors in the kingdom, and exploration for uranium and thorium.

KACARE has also met with nuclear technology suppliers in the United States, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, and France, SPA said.

Saudi Arabia had previously signed an MoU with China in 2012 to cooperate on the civilian use of nuclear energy.

The countries made several key announcements during Gaoli’s visit last week, including the establishment of a $20 billion joint investment fund.