Earlier this
year, we, at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), hosted the
International Conference on Effective Nuclear and Radiation Regulatory Systems:
Preparing for the Future in a Rapidly Changing Environment in Abu Dhabi, where more than 580 participants from 95 Member
States and four international organisations gathered to discuss the role of the
global regulatory community to ensure the effective of regulatory systems.
The
selection of the theme for the conference "Preparing for the future in a
rapidly changing environment" is crucial, given the changes that we have been
witnessing in recent years to the global nuclear industry. The participants
discussed emerging challenges such as the safety and security of new
technologies, full lifecycle challenges of nuclear and non-nuclear applications
as well as regulatory agility and being prepared for the unexpected
circumstances that might occur and affect the nuclear sector at large. Collaboration is a key perquisite for
regulatory bodies to be ready for the future and ensure the sustainability of
the nuclear sector.
There has been a steady increase in the demand
for nuclear energy, with about 60 reactors
that are under construction today and many countries are considering
embarking on their own nuclear energy programs to meet the increasing demand
for energy in addition to meeting their clean energy goals.
Such changes
to the industry come with its set of challenges that Governments, regulators ,
operators and the international community needs to address and be prepared for
ensuring the safe and secure use of the
nuclear energy and the application of radiation, while maintaining the sustainability of the industry.
We, in the
United Arab Emirates, are proud of the historic milestones made in the past
decade to realize the UAE's Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme since the UAE
government issued its nuclear policy in 2008. We have developed and implemented
a robust regulatory infrastructure, which played a crucial role in supporting
the programme successful execution .
The UAE is
the first country in the Arab region to build and operate a nuclear power
plant, and the first to start a new programme
since three decades. Three units of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant are commercially operational and delivering
electricity around the clock. We expect Unit 4 to receive the operating license
later this year. This success was the
result of the UAE Government vision, commitment
and long term strategies in delivering a unique and responsible peaceful nuclear energy programme
supporting the realization of the UAE's
2050 Energy Strategy.
The UAE has
been taking concrete steps towards diversifying its energy mix, which have been
evident in its 2050 Energy Strategy, and it is commitment to achieve its Net Zero Goal by the year
2050. Furthermore, the hosting of the COP28 in the UAE later this year, and declaring 2023 to be the Year of
Sustainability are some of the initiatives taken by the UAE Government to
address climate change, which is one of the key topics in this conference that
is directly linked the role of nuclear industry and its regulation.
The
development of the UAE robust nuclear
regulatory infrastructure was the result of our long and strong cooperation
with our national and international partners, and in particular our close
cooperation with the IAEA. The IAEA's support, since the inception of the UAE
nuclear energy progamme, was instrumental and significant in developing the UAE
nuclear regulations, policies and standards, hence positioning the UAE a role
model for nuclear newcomer countries.