Big names for UAE nuclear advisory board
22 February 2010
Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Hans Blix heads a list of distinguished figures announced by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as its International Advisory Board (IAB). Dr Blix is joined on the IAB by special adviser to France's Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) and former chairman of the Generation IV international forum Jacques Bouchard; former South Korean minister of science and technology KunMo Chung; former US diplomat and non-proliferation expert Thomas Graham; president of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and former Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) executive vice president Takuya Hattori; UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) chair Barbara Judge; Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of nuclear and mechanical engineering Mujid Kazimi; director general of Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority Jukka Laaksonen; and Rolls-Royce plc chief executive John Rose. The IAB, chaired by Blix, will offer guidance to the UAE to help it to ensure that its fledgling nuclear energy program meets the highest standards of safety, security and non-proliferation, according to state news agency WAM. The board is to meet twice per year, with its first meeting scheduled to take place in February, and will issue regular reports which the UAE has undertaken to make publicly available.