UAE in line to become first Arab country with nuclear power

The United Arab Emirates took a step yesterday towards becoming the first Arab country to acquire a nuclear capability, a move that could prompt other states to seek to join the club and alter the balance of power in the region.

I can't wait to visit UAE

The Gulf state said it was seeking a nuclear programme for energy, not to produce an atomic weapon. But other Arab countries, if they built reactors, may be more likely to switch from civilian to military use.

The UAE's embassy in Washington said yesterday that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, was scheduled to sign a nuclear co-operation pact with her UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayid al-Nahyan, at the state department.

The pact had been delayed because of protests by members of Congress that it could accelerate nuclear proliferation and add volatility in the region. It will be one of the last acts of the Bush administration, in defiance of concerns raised by Congress.

Arab countries having reactors within the next decade would mean stockpiles of nuclear material accumulating in the region. One estimate is there would be enough to build between 1,000 and 2,000 nuclear bombs.

Israel is the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear weapons capability, though it publicly refuses to confirm this. Iran is suspected by the US, Britain and other countries of also seeking a nuclear weapons capability, but it claims it is only interested in developing nuclear power to meet its energy needs. More