| |||||||||||||||||||
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
The conference, to be chaired by President of the Republic, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is the first to take place in a southern hemisphere country, due to the fact that the very conference was not interested, in the past, in developing all kinds of nuclear energy. Algeria seeks to underline, through IAEA, it exclusively aims to develop energy for peaceful purposes as, inter alia, electric power production and seawater desalination. Diplomatic sources tell El Khabar Algeria wants IAEA conference, it is sheltering, to “play mediator role to settle nuclear energy-related international conflicts, especially Iran’s nuclear issue. Algeria now is a major intermediary for IAEA, same sources add. Over 30 States, most of which are from Africa, are to take part in the conference which will emphasize Algeria’s weight as it is second major nuclear energy producer country in Africa after South Africa, and owns the most important uranium mine in the region. Algeria wants to “give all guarantees not to get peaceful projects deviated from their initial goals, by securing energy-generating sites and putting them under IAEA’s control to prevent them from becoming nuclear terrorism. Algeria had previously expressed its intention to give up research studies on nuclear armament as did Libya, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Brazil. Algiers has besides singed all denuclearization conventions. And through an agreement with IAEA, it agreed to be submitted to any investigation on its denuclearization pledge fulfilment. On other hand, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have announced, on November 3, they intends to develop a peaceful nuclear program. For his part, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told President Bouteflika’s envoy, late November, his country was ready to share its nuclear knowledge with Algeria. | ||||||||||||||||||
Algeria to shelter nuclear energy conference