WASHINGTON (AN) — A new nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia is testing whether strategic competition in the Middle East is beginning to weaken the nonproliferation safeguards Washington has long promoted to prevent civilian nuclear programs from creating pathways to weapons development.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a Section 123 civilian nuclear cooperation agreement on Wednesday along with a bilateral safeguards accord. The Energy Department described the package as the legal foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership that would expand opportunities for American nuclear companies, deepen the U.S.-Saudi strategic relationship and reinforce global nonproliferation standards.
