King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the King of Saudi Arabia, approved “the National Project for Nuclear Energy” during the meeting of the Saudi cabinet in July. The project was mainly suggested by Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was approved by the whole cabinet.
Nuclear and renewable energy had been an economic interest to the prince, as he is planning to diversify energy resources and economic income. It is vital to mention that Saudi Arabia has been a partner with Russia since March 2016 in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman has signed several nuclear cooperation agreements with Russia and France in 2015. He signed agreements with Russia regarding legal principles for the cooperation between the two countries. The cooperation consists of decommissioning and building nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia for power generation and research, as well as qualifying human resources in the nuclear sector. In addition, Saudi Arabia signed cooperation agreements with France about radiological waste management and nuclear peaceful uses development.
