Japan, Saudi Arabia agree on nuclear power plant cooperation+

RIYADH, Jan. 8 Kyodo - Japan and Saudi Arabia agreed on Saturday to cooperate in expediting the construction of nuclear power plants in the Middle Eastern country, Japanese officials said.

The agreement came in a meeting between Economy, Trade and Industry Minister
Akihiro Ohata and Hashin bin Abdullah Yamani, chief of the Saudi government's
new energy organization, the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy
in Riyadh, the officials said.
Saudi Arabia plans to build nuclear power plants to counteract possible
electricity shortages stemming from population growth and to conserve crude oil
resources.
Ohata proposed providing Riyadh with a range of assistance through such means
as training Saudis in nuclear power generation technology and the compilation
of necessary laws, they said.
He also proposed that the two countries sign documents to expedite such
cooperation speedily, they said.
Yamani accepted these proposals, they said.
Details of the agreed-upon cooperation will be worked out further in
working-level talks, they said.
Japan hopes such assistance will help Japanese companies win Saudi orders
related to nuclear power plants.
In a related development the same day, Ohata and Saudi Minister of National
Economy and Planning Khalid Al-Gosaibi agreed to push cooperation in the fields
of nuclear power and renewable energy, they said.
Last October, the governments of Japan and Vietnam reached an agreement under
which Hanoi will place an order for two nuclear reactors with Japanese
companies.
The Japanese government and business community are asking the governments of
Jordan and Turkey to place orders for Japanese-made nuclear reactors in a bid
to boost the country's nuclear reactor business overseas.
==Kyodo