CAIRO — Egypt's regime of President Hosni Mubarak plans
to acquire nuclear reactors, his son said. Officials said the Energy Ministry intends to
discuss nuclear energy facilities and technology from a range of countries,
including China and Russia.
"The whole world — I don't want to say all, but many developing
countries — have proposed and started to execute the issue of alternative
energy," Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, said. "It is time for Egypt to
put forth, and the party will put forth, this proposal for discussion about
its future energy policies, the issue of alternative energy, including
nuclear energy, as one of the alternatives."
In an address to the ruling National Democratic Party on Tuesday, the
42-year-old Gamal urged his father to examine a proposal to develop nuclear
energy. In 2004, Egypt was said to have abandoned its nuclear energy project
and shelved plans to construct up to eight reactors. Under the plan, each
reactor would have a capacity of 1,800 megawatts, Middle East Newsline reported.
"We will continue using our natural energy resources, but we should
conserve these resources for our future generations," Gamal said.
[In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency has been examining a
proposal to restrict the supply of nuclear reactor fuel. Under the proposal
offered by Germany, Russia and the United States, the IAEA would establish
nuclear fuel centers that would be the sole suppliers for civilian reactors,
such as those planned by Iran.]
In March 2006, however, the International Atomic Energy Agency
determined that Egypt conducted secret nuclear activities at a facility
about 40 kilometers north of Cairo. An IAEA report said Egypt carried out
nuclear research from 1960 to 2000, but probably did not conduct uranium
enrichment.
"We will not accept initiatives made abroad," Gamal said. "Egypt is a
big country and plays a leading role and will continue to do that."
Officials said the NDP has been discussing the renewal of Egypt's
nuclear program since May 2006. They said Gamal, the party's deputy
secretary-general, and his colleagues have been discussing the option of
producing nuclear fuel to avoid dependency on foreign suppliers. Virtually
all Cabinet ministers are NDP members.
On Sept. 11, an Egyptian strategist urged Arab League members to invest
in a regional civilian nuclear program. During a two-day nuclear conference
in the Bahraini capital of Manama, the strategist pointed to Iran's uranium
enrichment program, which he said could not be ignored by Arab neighbors.
The conference adopted the Egyptian recommendation.
"We can't just sit and look from the outside as these developments take
place," Mohammed Al Said Idris, a consultant at the Egyptian state-owned Al
Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, said.
Officials said China could be a leading supplier of nuclear technology
to Egypt. Over the last two years, they said, Beijing has expanded trade
links and plans to invest in Egypt's energy sector. Between 2002 and 2005,
trade between the two countries doubled to $2.2 billion.
"We are planning to bring our relationship with China to a new level,"
Egyptian Trade Minister Rashid Mohammed Rashid, who led a delegation to
China in early September, said. "If you look at the big picture, everybody
in the world is aware there is a paradigm shift in the world economy at the
moment."
Despite repeated denials, Gamal has been regarded as the heir-apparent
to the president. Over the last four years, he has risen to a leadership
position in the NDP and in April was sent on a secret mission to the United
States, where he met President George Bush and Vice President Richard
Cheney.
"There's an impressive group of younger Egyptians, the trade minister
and some of the economic people that understand the promise and the
difficulties of democracy," Bush, referring to Gamal, told The Wall Street
Journal.
Egypt has been receiving about $2 billion a year in U.S. military and
economic aid. The Bush administration, under congressional pressure, has
withheld Egypt's request for new F-16s, the Joint Direct Attack Munition and
other advanced U.S. systems.
In 2005, Mubarak was elected to another six-year term. But opposition
leaders assess that the 78-year-old president would step down in 2007 and
ensure that his son takes over.
Opposition sources said the current three-day NDP conference would
decide to amend Egypt's constitution. They said the proposed revisions were
designed to facilitate the election of Gamal in a referendum in mid-2007.
"The main objective of the NDP is to put Gamal Mubarak on the seat of
power, and this conference will ensure that happens," opposition
parliamentarian Talaat Sadat, nephew of the late President Anwar Sadat,
said.