UAE shares Barakah experience at Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2026 in Paris

A UAE delegation led by FANR Director‑General Hamad Al Kaabi set out Abu Dhabi’s lessons from the Barakah plant at an international conference on expanding nuclear capacity.

Abu Dhabi’s Barakah programme cited as a template for delivery

A United Arab Emirates delegation, headed by Hamad Al Kaabi, Director‑General of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), attended the Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2026 conference in Paris. The UAE team included representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, FANR and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC).

Co‑hosted by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the United States Department of Energy, the conference convened ministers, senior officials and industry leaders to examine the conditions required to develop new nuclear projects. Sessions addressed financing, supply chains, workforce development, regulatory readiness and advanced technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs).

In his remarks, Mr Al Kaabi drew directly on the UAE’s experience in establishing and operating the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. He stressed the need to turn rising global interest in nuclear power into tangible delivery “at scale and pace”, emphasising that sustained national commitment and robust institutions are essential to success.

Regulatory preparedness for advanced technologies featured prominently in the UAE contribution. The delegation underlined the importance of regulators being ready to assess and oversee SMRs and other emerging designs, noting that sound regulation is a prerequisite for investor confidence and safe deployment.

The UAE also set out a list of enabling conditions needed for responsible expansion of nuclear energy: credible project delivery, access to finance, resilient supply chains, secure access to nuclear fuel and a suitably skilled workforce. Mr Al Kaabi highlighted that growth must be accompanied by resilience and measures to protect the peaceful use, safety and physical integrity of nuclear facilities.

Drawing on concrete national experience, the director‑general noted that all four units at Barakah are in commercial operation and that nuclear energy supplies approximately 25 per cent of the UAE’s electricity. He said this demonstrated that successful nuclear programmes rest not only on technology but on long‑term planning, competent organisations and the development of national expertise.

The UAE’s participation at Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2026 underlined its commitment to international cooperation and to sharing operational lessons that can support the responsible development of peaceful nuclear energy worldwide.

Source: https://www.wam.ae/en/article/c2dik01-uae-participates-roadmaps-new-nuclear-2026