Saudi mulls first nuke power plant

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, is looking at building its first nuclear power plant, an official told an Arabic-language daily on Wednesday.

Minister of Water and Electricity, Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman al-Husayen, told the Al-Watan newspaper: "The kingdom is working on building a pilot plant fuelled by nuclear energy" to generate electricity.

In May French's Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said Saudi Arabia and France were close to finalising a civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreement.