UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – CHINA With the help of Beijing, Abu Dhabi gives new impetus to the nuclear challenge in the Middle East

This weekend the Emirates signed some agreements with Chinese entities operating in the atomic energy sector. An expansion of the partnership, after the South Korean Barakah plant. Last week Turkey inaugurated the Akkuyu plant, Erdogan and Putin were connected by video. Saudi nuclear ambitions in open defiance of allies-rivals in the region.

Abu Dhabi () – The nuclear race continues in the Middle East, a region historically linked to the production of energy from fossil fuels. The latest, in chronological order, is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which this weekend signed a series of agreements with Chinese entities. At the same time, Riyadh continues to develop its nuclear plans, despite fears of an arms race in the region, and Turkey already inaugurated – last week – the atomic plant built and financed by Russia, a new confirmation of the increasingly close relations between Ankara (a member of NATO) and Moscow, which is in the crosshairs of a large part of the international community for the invasion of Ukraine.

Returning to Abu Dhabi, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the national head of atomic development, signed three agreements with Chinese organizations with the purpose of promoting the production of atomic energy with low carbon emissions. The Emirates, which this year will host the COP28 climate summit and want to cover 6% of its requirements with nuclear energy, consider Beijing as a key partner in the energy transition plan, confirming once again the growing Chinese influence in the East Half.

The three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), ENEC explains in a note, refer to collaboration in nuclear energy operations, very high temperature nuclear reactors and for supplies and investments in nuclear fuel. The Chinese companies involved are China Nuclear Power Operations Research Institute, China Nuclear Power Operations Research Institute, China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas and China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation.

The deal marks a further expansion of the strategic partnership in the sector, as Abu Dhabi is already building a multi-unit nuclear power plant (the first in the Arab world) with South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco). When completed, the Barakah plant will have four reactors with a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts (MW), equivalent to about 25% of peak demand in the United Arab Emirates.

For its part, Turkey inaugurated last week the Akkuyu plant, built in association with Moscow, which marks a new rapprochement between presidents Recep Tayyp Erdogan (who will face the test of the polls on Sunday) and Vladimir Putin, both connected by video for the occasion. On the Mediterranean coast, a stone’s throw from Cyprus, it will supply electricity to 15 million people and will be able to cover around 10% of the country’s needs. The $20 billion project is signed by the Russian giant in the sector, Rosatom; the first reactor should start operating in the summer.

The plant is located in a grade 5 seismic zone, a factor that worries experts especially after the earthquake on February 6 on the border with Syria. However, the builders claim that it is the “safest” area in Turkey. During the ceremony Erdogan anticipated “measures” for the construction of “the second and third nuclear power plants in Turkey as soon as possible”, while Putin spoke of “mutual economic benefits”.

Finally, Saudi Arabia, although within a framework of alliances, continues the open challenge with the Emirates for supremacy in the Gulf region, from energy to finance, including the entertainment industry, the technology sector and https:// www.asianews.it/notizie-it/Riyadh-col-Newcastle-sfida-Emirati-e-Qatar:-il-calcio-per-l%E2%80%99immagine-globale-54242.htmlfootball. The competition also includes nuclear energy, and Riyadh is stepping on the accelerator to reinforce its nuclear ambitions despite concerns about the proliferation of weapons (including atomic ones) in the region. In late 2020 the Saudis, with Chinese support, began building a uranium mining plant in the northwestern city of al-Ula.

At the same time, the Russian company Rosatom announced its participation in the tender for the construction of the first plant, and proposed itself as a potential contractor for the development of the plant. Recent talks between Xi Jinping and Mohammed bin Salman (Mbs) during the Chinese leader’s visit to Riyadh have fueled speculation about the kingdom’s plans. Experts say that bin Salman himself is negotiating with China and South Korea to get the best price and the most advantageous conditions in terms of energy and reliability, and then proceed. Preliminary studies indicate that Saudi Arabia possesses some 60,000 tons of uranium ore, the enrichment of which remains a delicate matter because it can be used to produce both energy and atomic weapons, very easy to come by considering the vast financial and human resources available to the Saudis.