The UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, FANR, has signed two international cooperation agreements with leading nuclear regulators to exchange knowledge and information related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, as well as safety and regulatory-related information.

The agreements were signed on the sideline of the 61st General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, held in Vienna, Austria, where FANR joined other UAE delegation members on the high-profile platform.

"Cooperating with leading international organisations and countries in nuclear regulation is a necessity nowadays. Being the UAE’s nuclear regulator, FANR is gearing up its efforts to ensure a peaceful nuclear programme as well as regulate nuclear-related activities that serve nations goals," said Christer Viktorsson, Director-General of the UAE Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

The first was an "Information Exchange Arrangement" signed with the Office for Nuclear Regulation, ONR, of Great Britain. The arrangement aims to exchange information on matters related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It exchanges information on legislation, regulations, licenses as well as construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear installations.

The second was signed with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, CNSC, to exchange safety and regulatory-related information. It covers regulatory aspects of the safety and security of nuclear power plants and radioactive source, safety-related research in connection with licensing and regulatory control of nuclear facilities and other aspects. CNSC is a Canadian independent federal government agency responsible for licensing, regulating and establishing technical requirements for all nuclear-related activities.

FANR, an independent federal authority based in the UAE, was established in 2009 to regulate all nuclear-related activities and licenses the use of radioactive sources in the UAE in line with the provisions of the Federal Law on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Hence, FANR is collaborating with international organisations and countries using widely-used best practices to ensure its mandate is maintained according to the UAE Nuclear Law.