DUBAI // The country's nuclear policy will be the focal point of an international conference in the capital this year.
Up to 700 experts from across the world are expected to attend the New Nuclear International Conference, where they will be updated on the progress by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) in developing the country's first nuclear power plant.
The event, from November 11 to 14, will focus on the UAE's experience in building a Dh75 billion power plant at Barakah, 300 kilometres west of the capital. It is expected to be operational by 2017.
Several senior UAE officials are expected to be among the speakers, including Mohamed Al Hammadi, Enec's chief executive, and Ausaf Hussein, the company's director of nuclear fuels.
Presented by the Goodnight Consulting Corporation and organised by Carlisle Events in collaboration with Enec, the conference is being supported by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
The authority hopes the event will boost Abu Dhabi's reputation for hosting international meetings.
"Major conferences such as this are central to our campaign to be listed by the International Conventions and Congresses Association among the top 50 meeting destinations within the next five years," said Jassem Al Darmaki, deputy director general of the authority.
Last year, Abu Dhabi city was listed in the top 100.
The UAE is the first nation to begin building a nuclear power plant since China in 1985.
As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the country has agreed to open the plant to international inspectors and vowed to refrain from producing its own reactor fuel.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said this year that the country's programme was an example to other nations with peaceful nuclear ambitions.
The UAE reached a crucial milestone in its nuclear programme in June with the signing in Vienna of an agreement with the IAEA.
The document, the Integrated Work Plan, established the framework for the country's collaboration with the agency and covers 19 infrastructure areas, including environmental safeguards, radiation protection, emergency planning, security and legislation.
The UAE recently agreed to cooperate with Japan on exploring the development of peaceful nuclear energy, following similar agreements made with the UK, France and five other countries.
