IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano met the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during an official visit to Cairo on 3 and 4 February. President el-Sisi highlighted his country’s valuable cooperation with the IAEA and said he wished to further strengthen cooperation between Egypt and the IAEA in the peaceful applications of nuclear energy to help the country meet its development objectives.
President el-Sisi talked of the importance of establishing a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the Middle East and Mr. Amano reiterated the IAEA’s support and willingness to make available its experience in nuclear safeguards.
The two men also discussed Egypt’s interest in using nuclear power to meet increased electricity demand. Mr. Amano told President el-Sisi that the IAEA would continue to support Egypt’s efforts to establish the country’s first nuclear power plant at El Dabaa. He emphasised the importance of an IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission, scheduled for October this year, noting that recommendations from the expert mission would help Egypt in its preparatory work on the plant.
President el-Sisi said Egypt would observe the highest standards of safety and security in building and operating the nuclear power plant, to be located just west of Alexandria on the country’s Mediterranean coast.
The IAEA is supporting the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority in areas such as on-site evaluation of nuclear installations and strengthening regulatory competence.
Original source: IAEA
Published on 05 February 2019
