Saudi Arabia's nuclear power project underway: Minister

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy

Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Saudi Arabia’s national nuclear energy project is underway with all its components, including the construction of the Kingdom’s first nuclear plant, in a bid to shape the local energy mix to achieve sustainable national development within the framework of international obligations.

Addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference 2024, the minister explained that Saudi Arabia has finalized the basic administrative readiness related to nuclear regulatory work and the requirements for fulfilling the IAEA’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) obligations.

The Kingdom has filed a request with the IAEA to suspend the CSA’s Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) and proceed with the full implementation of the agreement-related safeguards framework, he further stated.

He pointed out that the Kingdom is currently working with the agency to complete the secondary procedures for the actual suspension of the SQP by the end of next December.