Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: U.S. Nuclear Marketers Visited Saudi Arabia, As Trade Talks Under Way

Friday, February 1, 2013

U.S. Nuclear Marketers Visited Saudi Arabia, As Trade Talks Under Way

Saudi King Abdullah, shown in May 2012, has reportedly warned that his nation would seek nuclear weapons if Iran acquired an atomic arsenal. Such statements have worried U.S. lawmakers as the Obama administration presses forward on a possible nuclear trade pact with Riyadh (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar).

By Elaine M. Grossman
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. nuclear industry delegation traveled to Saudi Arabia in November, as Washington and Riyadh launched negotiations toward sealing a controversial atomic trade agreement, according to government and business officials.
An industry official on Wednesday described the Saudi trade mission as “a first-of-a-kind, industry-led” trip. It follows a 2012 announcement by the Persian Gulf nation that it intends to build 16 reactors by 2030.
“On the nuclear side, that represents an investment of approximately $112 billion that they’re planning to make to bring those plants to reality,” the energy marketing representative said at a Nuclear Energy Institute forum on atomic fuel.http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/us-nuclear-marketers-visited-saudi-arabia-trade-talks-under-way/