Abu Dhabi: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Tuesday received 20 Emirati nuclear engineers, including two women, at Al Bahr Palace.
The engineers comprise the first group of Emiratis who have been licensed by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) as operating managers and operators of peaceful nuclear reactors, making them the first Emirati engineers to receive such licences in the history of the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed expressed his pride in the perseverance and tireless efforts by young Emiratis to acquire science and experience from all sources of knowledge and various schools.
“Competent young Emiratis have great potential and innovative capabilities, and we are confident that they will be able to complete and operate the Arab world’s first peaceful nuclear power plant in accordance with the highest international standards of safety, quality and operational performance,” Shaikh Mohammad said.
He voiced his full confidence in the ability of Emirati competencies to develop the Barakah peaceful nuclear power plant and make it a model for all new nuclear power plants in the world, due to the support it enjoys from the international nuclear community, in terms of operational transparency and safety specifications and global security.
The 20 Emirati engineers work at Nawah Energy Company, an affiliate of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), which is responsible for operating and maintaining Barakah peaceful nuclear power plants being developed in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi. They managed to receive an operating licence from FANR, which regulates the industry according to international standards.
ENEC is mandated to develop, build, finance, operate, maintain, manage and own nuclear reactors for the purposes of electricity generation.
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of ENEC, and its board members, along with Eng Mohammad Ebrahim Al Hammadi, CEO of ENEC, attended the meeting.
