By NNN-KUNA
Cairo : Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has held discussions here with visiting US Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman on bilateral peaceful nuclear cooperation.
Egypt has recently announced that it will set out fresh plans for setting up nuclear power plants.
Emerging from the meeting, Bodman told reporters that he had discussed with Mubarak the necessity of providing a congenial atmosphere for Egypt’s planned nuclear power stations.
He emphasized that cooperation in this domain should begin with the training of Egyptian power personnel in California as part of delegations from other countries in the region.
In this context, Bodman voiced hope that Egypt could join the US-adopted Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), which had so far attracted 19 countries, adding that Egypt had already attended GNEP meetings as “observer.” The GNEP is designed to buttress the safe and orderly use of nuclear energy, he pointed out.
During the meeting, he also briefed Mubarak on the outcome of his five-country regional tour, saying that talks focused on ways and means of reinforcing US-Egyptian relations.
Bodman is in the region to promote investments by both public and private sectors in conventional and alternative energy and energy efficiency improvement.