Trump’s visit raises prospect of US N-cooperation with Riyadh

Saudi Arabia wants US help developing its own civil nuclear programme, and the Trump administration says it is “very excited” at the prospect.

US-Saudi cooperation in building reactors for nuclear power plants in the kingdom could shut the Chinese and Russians out of what could be a high-dollar partnership for the American nuclear industry.

Despite that eagerness, there are obstacles, including fears that helping the Saudis fulfil their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium as part of that partnership would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.

Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of a nuclear agreement is likely to play into the ever-evolving bargaining on regional security issues involving the US, Iran and Israel.

This coming week, Republican President Donald Trump will make his first trip to Saudi Arabia of his second term. Here’s a look at key issues involved in the Saudi request.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who travelled to Saudi Arabia before Trump’s trip, said the world can expect to see “meaningful developments” this year on helping the kingdom build a commercial nuclear power industry. Wright said the US was “very excited” about it.

That does not necessarily mean there will be any big breakthroughs on Trump’s trip, said Jon Alterman, head of the Mideast programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Something smaller that still signals to the Saudis and the Iranians — with whom Trump is pushing for an agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear programme — that Washington is interested in cooperating on Saudi efforts could be the US aim for now.

“There would be a lot of ways to show progress toward an agreement on a Saudi nuclear programme without fully committing to a partnership on it,” Alterman said.

Solid reasons for a Saudi civilian nuclear power programme Saudi Arabia is a global oil giant, but it is also largely a desert. Running all those air conditioners uses a lot of petroleum that the kingdom would rather be exporting. The Saudis’ own oil consumption burns up one-third of what the country produces.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also is pushing to build up Saudi Arabia’s mining and processing of its own minerals. That includes Saudi reserves of uranium, a fuel for nuclear reactors.

For the Trump administration, any deal with Iran that lets Tehran keep its own nuclear programme or continue its own enrichment could increase Saudi pressure for the same.

That’s even though Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have toned down their enmity toward Iran in recent years and are supporting the US efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear programme peacefully.

For the US, any technological help it gives the Saudis as they move toward building nuclear reactors would be a boon for American companies.

Internationally, there is support for US efforts to strike a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, given that the Saudis could turn to the Chinese and Russians.

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