BAGHDAD — Six years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime,
Iraq's new government is making plans to resume its nuclear energy project.
Officials said the Baghdad government has approved plans to acquire a
nuclear energy reactor. They said the Iraqi Electricity Ministry has been
briefed by a range of prospective contractors, but appeared to favor France.
"I am willing to enter into contacts with the French nuclear agency and
to start to build a nuclear power plant, because the future is nuclear,"
Iraq Electricity Minister Karim Wahid said.
In an interview with Agence France Presse on Feb. 22, Wahid did not
elaborate on Iraq's nuclear energy plans. In 1976, Iraq signed an agreement
with France to build the Osirak nuclear reactor. In 1981, Israel, concluding
that this would be used to develop nuclear weapons, destroyed Osirak.
France has been discussing a nuclear energy project in Iraq, officials
said. They said Baghdad has assured Paris and other prospective contractors
that any nuclear project would come under inspection of the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
"My coming here is to tell French companies: the time has come, come and
invest," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said during his first visit to
Baghdad on Feb. 10. "We are ready to listen to the requests of the Iraqis."
Sarkozy said a French business delegation would arrive in Baghdad in
mid-2009. The president said the delegation would discuss opportunities in
defense and energy.
Since the fall of Saddam in 2003, Baghdad has renewed cooperation with
IAEA. In 2008, Iraq sold partially processed uranium ore, known as
yellowcake, Canada's Cameco.