VP chairs Cabinet extraordinary meeting at Barakah Nuclear Power Plant
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired today the UAE Cabinet extraordinary meeting at Barakah Nuclear Power Plant at Al Dhafra Region, Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mohammed affirmed that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the follow up of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is pressing ahead with aspirations for global leadership, thanks to the efforts of its capable citizens and the technological achievements in the fields of peaceful nuclear energy.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister said: "Today, we lead the regional and international efforts in clean and renewable energy, and building the future for generation to come". He emphasized that the UAE put its hopes and aspirations in the youth generation armed with knowledge and modern sciences.
His Highness was briefed, along with the cabinet members, on the updates of the UAE’s programme for peaceful nuclear energy, which is considered the biggest peaceful nuclear programme of its kind in the world, as Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak the Chairman of The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s Board of Directors made a presentation about the latest updates on the stages of building and accomplishing the project, while a number of Emirati engineers from the Corporation and from Nawah Energy Company presented an introductory demonstration to His Highness about the project. The presenting team included Mariam Qassim the Head of Fuel Fabrication Procurement Department, and Ali Al Nuaimi the Senior Reactor Operator.
His Highness made an inspection tour at the site of the Plant accompanied by Their Highnesses and Ministers along with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak the Chairman of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s Board of Directors, Eng. Mohammed Al Hamadi the CEO for the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Eng. Mohammed Sahoo Al Suwaudi the Acting CEO of the Nawah Energy Company at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
Sheikh Mohammed also visited the Simulator Training Centre, which provides intensive training to qualify trainees for Nuclear Energy Reactor Operator certificates, where Eng. Amani Al Hosani Deputy Head of the simulators, who is the first Emirati nuclear energy engineer, briefed them about the center and the operational preparedness plans.
His Highness Praised the team spirit and positive developments made by the programme during his meeting with a group of Emirati engineers and executives responsible for operation and work in nuclear energy plants. He expressed his pride with the Emirati talents working in the plant, and their qualitative expertise in operating and managing the programme on the highest levels.
During the visit, the Vice President stressed that the energy sector represents a main and important component in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, and safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly nuclear energy will have an important and vital role and the future of the country and the coming decades. Sheikh Mohammed said: "the project will provide job opportunities in the specialties of engineering, advanced technology and future sciences, and will contribute in developing our industrial and modern sectors, for the benefit of our coming generations”.
The Cabinet approved a number of Federal decisions and laws listed on the meeting’s agenda, including the forming of a high committee to supervise the application of the Emirates Standard Test System headed by the Minister of Education. It also approved a Federal Law regarding caring for mosques and organizing its affairs, as well as amendments to some articles of the cabinet resolution number 42 for the year 2009 pertaining to the minimum capital of insurance companies. In the field of international relations, the Cabinet approved a number of international cooperation agreements.
The Emirati Peaceful Nuclear Programme succeeded in establishing strong values in different strategic sectors in the UAE and the world and the country aims through it to support the future accomplishments and achieving the strategic goals aiming to providing safe, trusted and environmentally friendly nuclear energy for the UAE.
The total cost of the project reached over AED 89 billion, while the project contributed by awarding contracts of AED11 billion to more than 1,400 Emirati companies until the end of the year 2016, which points to the economic and competitive opportunities available for national companies in the nuclear energy sector.
The UAE government was keen to establish a strong cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and different concerned authorities to ensure adaptation of best practices for developing the peaceful nuclear energy, which will assist the country to fulfil the requirements of the Paris Agreement on climate change signed in 2015 and ratified in 2016 which aims at minimizing greenhouse gas emissions for the operations of producing electric energy.
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