Jordan Enters Nuclear Power Era

With two international agreements, the Jordanians made a big step into the era of nuclear power development: at a meeting in Amman Jan. 19, Jordan and France agreed on the final draft of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which will be formally signed by the two countries during a visit to Jordan by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, next month. The MOU envisages establishing the Jordan Center for Excellence that includes a Jordanian-French university to match the French Ecole Polytechnique, which specializes in nuclear science and scientific research. The center will help Jordan to launch its first nuclear power plant.

The memo commits France, as a leading country in the field of nuclear energy, to work with Jordan to develop a peaceful nuclear energy program as stipulated in the Cooperation Agreement signed by the two countries. The project will be the mainstay for the project of the Center for a Jordanian nuclear science and technology that will be responsible for rehabilitation and training of new generations of engineers and nuclear scientists in the Kingdom.

Another agreement was signed a few days ago, between Jordan and South Korea, for the construction of a nuclear research reactor, for which the Koreans will also train scientists and specialists.