‘The enemy wants our nuclear programme undermined’

AMMAN — Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khaled Toukan on Wednesday stressed that building nuclear energy reactors in the Kingdom is a safe endeavour that will help generate much needed electricity and water.

“We should not doubt this project because this is what our enemy wants.  This project will be run by qualified Jordanians and is purely dedicated for generating electricity and water and will be utilised for medical purposes,” Toukan said.

Toukan’s assurances were made during the first panel that was part of the first day of the 11th session of the Amman Security Colloquium, held at the University of Jordan. 

The high-level gathering is organised by the Arab Institute of Security Studies and is sponsored by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Netherlands and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

“We are for nuclear energy for life and peace unlike Israel whose nuclear facilities are for war,” Toukan added.

Toukan also said that the conflicts and wars in the area have “drained the resources and positive energy of the Arab countries… that is why there is an Arab interest in nuclear energy for peaceful purposes such as water and electricity”.

“I believe that because of the circumstances surrounding us, Arab countries should continue to build and use nuclear reactors in a transparent manner to boost their economic and social growth and achieve sustainable development,” Toukan stressed.

Also speaking during the first panel was Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and Egyptian Ambassador Mounir Zahran who said it is time the world strongly calls for a region totally free of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction.

“We live in a double-standard world where Israel is allowed to own nuclear weapons and we cannot,” Zahran said.

Egyptian Ambassador Mahmoud Karem, who also spoke during the first panel, agreed with Zahran saying: “It is impossible to open a dialogue with Israel” about the latter’s nuclear programme.

“The United Nations keeps asking us to have a dialogue with Israel about this matter, but it is really hard because there are always excuses such as Arabs are not ready... and Iran has missiles. These are all unacceptable excuses,” Karem said.

That is why, Karem added, “I believe that the UN secretary general should have an active pivotal role in the future regarding the issue of Israel’s ownership of nuclear weapons”.

The JAEC was established in 2008 to carry out a national strategy for nuclear energy to address the increasing public demand for energy, limited local energy sources and the high prices of fossil fuels on the international market. 

Jordan has already signed an agreement with Russia worth $10 billion to build the Kingdom’s first nuclear power plant with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatt.