New law sets UAE’s nuclear age in motion

The federal Government yesterday issued a law that will form the legal cornerstone of the country’s civilian nuclear programme. Significantly, the law affirms the UAE’s place as the first nation to ban uranium enrichment, the process by which the metal can be made not only into nuclear fuel but also into an atom bomb.

Instead, officials said the UAE will import its nuclear fuel.

The law, approved by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, also puts strict controls on the handling of nuclear material and sanctions the creation of a nuclear safety regulator with what is unprecedented independence for the UAE from industry influence.