SAUDI ARABIA'S NUCLEAR ENERGY PROGRAM: CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS IN THE US-SAUDI ARABIA NUCLEAR COOPERATION NEGOTIATIONS

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been interested in nuclear technology and working towards developing the country’s nuclear energy infrastructure and nuclear legal framework. In view of recent advancements in Saudi nuclear energy, it is apparent that Saudi Arabia intends to pursue its nuclear energy program with the assistance of nuclear cooperation agreements. So far, the Kingdom has concluded several nuclear cooperation agreements with various foreign governments in order to advance its nuclear energy program. Although the United States (the US) and Saudi Arabia has not concluded a nuclear cooperation yet, the negotiations are currently underway. This study focuses on the Kingdom’s nuclear energy program particularly focusing on the challenging issues in the nuclear cooperation negotiations with the US. It puts that the two countries has not been successful to conclude a “nuclear cooperation agreement” (“123 Agreement”) due to several challenges and concerns. Major challenging issues are originating from the US insistence on its stringent conditions including restrictions on enrichment and reprocessing activities (“gold standard”) and Saudi implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Additional Protocol (AP). The study first provides a short overview on the Saudi national atomic energy project and then focuses on the US provisions to conclude 123 agreements with other states. In the light of the US-Saudi nuclear negotiations, the study examines Washington’s demand for additional nonproliferation requirements and international concerns regarding the Saudi nuclear program. It concludes that due to ongoing disagreements on these two additional conditions and other concerns including Saudis possible covert intents, regional proliferation risks and nuclear security threats, nuclear cooperation between the two countries has remained at a low level.