Australia, UAE sign uranium agreement

2 Aug 2012, 1:15 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
2
Supply of Australian uranium would cease if the UAE started to enrich it, or gave it to a third party, or announced it was going to use the uranium for a nuclear warfare capacity. (AAP)

Supply of Australian uranium would cease if the UAE started to enrich it, or gave it to a third party, or announced it was going to use the uranium for a nuclear warfare capacity. (AAP)

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed a framework agreement has been signed with the United Arab Emirates to permit sales of Australian uranium.

RELATED

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has confirmed a framework agreement has been signed with the United Arab Emirates to permit sales of Australian uranium.

It is the latest of 22 nuclear safeguard agreements covering 39 countries, including the US, Russia, Korea, UK, Canada, Argentina and China. It is the second in the Middle East after Egypt.

"We are very, very happy that the UAE has fulfilled all the conditions and requirements that we would seek of a partner," Senator Carr told ABC Radio on Thursday.

Although rich in oil, the UAE has opted for nuclear for domestic power generation and in July became the first country in more than two-and-a-half decades to begin building a maiden nuclear power plant.

Senator Carr said the agreement allowed a comprehensive range of safeguards to ensure Australian nuclear material was not used for anything but peaceful purposes.

"There is a very strong guarantee and that is that it's in the interest of the UAE to stick to what they have committed themselves to do," he said.

Supply of Australian uranium would cease if the UAE started to enrich it, or gave it to a third party, or announced it was going to use the uranium for a nuclear warfare capacity.

Senator Carr said Australia, as a uranium supplier, had an obligation to sell to countries that adhered to all the rules, delivered on all the safeguards and were committed to non-proliferation.

"If we don't provide uranium to such countries, then we are not providing an incentive to play by the rules," he said.

Senator Carr said he did not believe there was any appetite in Australia for a debate on a domestic nuclear energy program. "And I'm not going to initiate it," he said.

Senator Carr once endorsed nuclear power but said such views were expressed before joining the federal government. "And you will only get from me an expression and a defence of Australian government policy," he said.
 

Uranium

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

Selling uranium, perfectly safe, right? No worries, Bob!

frillneck - from Wentworth Falls, 10 months ago

Selling uranium to UAE just like selling it to India, will be perfectly safe, because: 1. there will never be any secret uranium enrichment like what happened in Iraq or Israel or Iran. 2. there will never be an accident like 3 mile island, Chernobyl or Fukushima in India or UAE because things are different now. Besides we have an obligation to sell uranium to everybody who signs a contract gauranteeing to follow our rules.

Does Carr believe this?

Mona - from Australia, 10 months ago

"Although rich in oil, the UAE has opted for nuclear for domestic power generation." They are RICH IN OIL, they have no reason whatsoever to want nuclear power generation. Uranium to the middle east for nuclear bombs! Still, they should be supplied. Everyone should have the bomb, not just our self appointed, world rulers, the americans. Have the uranium miners been lobbying and donating lately? Let's just be honest about what they want uraniumn for or Pigs apparently fly.

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.