Egypt plans to build four nuclear reactors by 2025 and the first of these will be operational within nine years, Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis announced yesterday.
Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of Infrastructure Uzi Landau declared Tel Aviv’s intention to build a nuclear plant in cooperation with its Arab neighbors.
Egyptian political and nuclear experts say Israel can build a nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes without scrutiny from the International Atomic Energy Agency, since Israel is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The same experts advise Egypt to launch its nuclear project and deny Israel the "opportunity to overtake us in this field."
In a statement on the sidelines of the International Conference on Access to Civil Nuclear Energy currently being held in Paris, Younis said Egypt fully supports all initiatives seeking to facilitate access to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, while taking into account agreements restricting the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
At the same conference, Landau described his country’s hopes to build a nuclear plant with the help of its Arab neighbors.
Israel has the "technical infrastructure, expertise and incentive to work in this field," Landau said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
