Manama: Saudi Arabia has donated $10 million (Dh36.73 million) for the establishment of a specialised centre to combat nuclear terrorism, at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in the Austrian capital Vienna, a Saudi official said.
Dr Hashim Bin Abdullah Yamani, President of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and the head of the Saudi Delegation to the Nuclear Security Summit said before the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit that the Kingdom also donated 500,000 euro (Dh2.09 million) for the modernisation project of the IAEA laboratories, in Seibersdorf, in the outskirts of Vienna.
He added that Saudi Arabia was among the first countries that supported international resolutions related to nuclear security and paid special attention to the issue of infrastructure development for nuclear security, Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported on Saturday.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries that supported international resolutions related to nuclear security and the Kingdom has ratified the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and it supported as well the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism as a party of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism,” he said.
Dr Yamani said Saudi Arabia had been effectively and positively represented in most international forums and activities related to nuclear security, since the first summit in Washington in 2010, adding that the Kingdom gave special attention to the issue of the infrastructure of nuclear security development through the integration of nuclear safety and nuclear security.
The Kingdom is continuing to activate the strategic partnership agreement between King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, in Finland, as a strategic partner to provide technical support, necessary knowledge and experience for organising the Saudi atomic energy sector and providing it with necessary training of human resources, in order to establish an independent national authority for nuclear regulation, he added.
He said that the Kingdom, in the international context, has provided and will continue to provide full support to all international activities, in the field of nuclear security, pointing out that the Kingdom in 2014 announced a donation of $100 million for the establishment of the United Nations counter-terrorism centre.
Dr Yamani emphasised the great attention given by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the pivotal role of IAEA in the field of nuclear security.
