Saudi Arabia and the US will sign a broad energy cooperation agreement in the coming weeks, spanning partnerships, investments, and research, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Al Arabiya. The announcement came during a visit to Riyadh, where he met with Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

The understanding should be a stepping stone towards a nuclear cooperation agreement set to be signed in within months, pending the signature of a 123 Agreement, Wright said.

SOUND SMART- The 123 Agreement takes its name from Section 123 of the US AtomicEnergy Act of 1954 that regulates nuclear cooperation between the US and other countries. The act requires potential US partners to meet specific requirements, including maintaining IAEA safeguards and the physical security of nuclear material, before an agreement can be finalized.

This has been in the works for a while: We signed an energy cooperation roadmap earlier in May 2024 with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, including a pathway to a nuclear energy pact. Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said in May that a bilateral agreement between Riyadh and Washington is “more or less complete” and “pretty much there.”

So, what’s stalling an agreement? Negotiations on a US-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement have been slow as Riyadh reportedly held back from promising that it would not enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel, two key steps for countries that wish to start building their own nuclear weapons. Saudi has long maintained that it would head down the nuclear pathway if Iran were to successfully develop nukes.

Wright’s visit is part of a two-week Middle East tour that started in the UAE, ahead of an anticipated Gulf tour by US President Trump slated for sometime in mid-May.

Tags: