JEDDAH -- Saudi Arabia will sign a nuclear cooperation pact with France shortly in order to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes, according to an announcement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Monday.
It did not say when the signing would take place but analysts expect the agreement to be inked during the forthcoming state visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to France.
The nuclear pact was first proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in talks with King Abdullah in June 2007 in Paris, and the French side submitted a draft when Sarkozy visited Riyadh in January 2008.
| The French also sold nuke technology to Saddam. For peaceful purposes. Just saying. |
| But President Sarkozy is very upset about Iran's nuclear program. How does he feel about Pakistan's, which as I recall was financed by Saudi Arabia. I've heard Saudi Arabia believes itself the ultimate owner of the result. |
Saudi endorsement was delayed last year while Riyadh undertook a formal review of its nuclear policy, which resulted in the April 2010 announcement of the King Abdullah City to conduct research on nuclear and renewable energy. |