Source: Strategic Studies Institute
Interest in nuclear energy is high, particularly in the Middle East. Yet, the challenges to developing a nuclear power program are daunting. In Chapter 10 of Nuclear Power's Global Expansion, Carnegie’s James Acton and Wyn Q. Bowen of King’s College London lay out the technical and regulatory requirements facing a state seeking to develop its first power reactor and consider how far Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have come in fulfilling them.
Although all three states still have significant barriers to surmount, Egypt and Turkey are considerably further along in the process than Saudi Arabia. In particular, research reactors in Egypt and Turkey together with extensive efforts to overhaul legislation have left both states relatively well positioned to embark on a nuclear power program. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, has little relevant experience and lacks the necessary regulatory framework.
