Amman - Jordan and Canada on Saturday signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes, Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) chairman
Khalid Touqan said.
Touqan said the MOU covered a range of areas of cooperation
designed to 'assist Jordan in assessing the feasibility of the
introduction of a CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) nuclear power
programme.'
Touqan said that he signed the MOU with the visiting president of
the CANDU reactor division at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
(AECL), Ken Petrunik, and the president of the SNC-Lavalin
International group, Ron Denom.
'An agreement on nuclear cooperation between the two countries
will be signed at the end of the year,' he added.
'AECL's EC-6 reactor is the ideal size for compatibility with
Jordan's electricity grid, and with its natural uranium fuel cycle
and fuel conversion capability,' Petrunik said.
Touqan predicted that Jordan would start utilization of nuclear
energy in the generation of electricity as of 2016.
'Jordan is currently negotiating with three international firms to
conduct a feasibility study for producing uranium from Jordanian
ores,' he said.
This is the second agreement to be signed between Jordan and a
Western country to develop a civilian nuclear programme.
The Hashemite kingdom signed a nuclear cooperation accord with
France on May 31.
Jordan and other Arab countries decided to obtain their own
peaceful nuclear programmes after Iran adamantly went ahead in its
drive to possess nuclear technology.
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