World Jewish News

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Syria wants to develop nuclear energy

A senior Syrian official says his country would like to pursue nuclear power to meet growing energy needs.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad says "the peaceful application of nuclear energy should not be monopolized by the few that own this technology but should be available to all."
He says Syria is looking at "alternative energy sources, including nuclear energy" to meet growing demand for energy in his country, noting its growing population.
Mekdad spoke Tuesday at a nuclear conference in Paris.
Earlier this week, National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau left for an international civilian nuclear power conference in Paris at the request of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
At the conference, co-sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Landau was expected to announce Israel’s interest in producing electricity through civilian nuclear power plants.
Israel is in the grips of an electricity crisis no less severe than the better-known water crisis. Reserves are at two percent and continued environmental objections have so far stymied efforts to build another coal-fired power plant in Ashkelon.

JPost.com