The United States and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy

The document, concluded under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, will allow US companies to participate in the creation of the Saudi nuclear energy industry. The agreement is expected to last 30 years and will give American companies access to projects worth tens of billions of dollars.

According to Reuters, the agreement does not contain the most stringent restrictions that Washington included in some previous agreements. In particular, Riyadh has not committed itself to abandoning uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The document also does not include the additional IAEA protocol providing for expanded inspections. However, the agreement itself does not provide for the transfer of uranium enrichment technologies to Saudi Arabia.

Now the administration of President Donald Trump intends to send the agreement to Congress for consideration. That would begin a 90-day period during which lawmakers could try to block it with a joint resolution. Opponents of the deal fear that the lack of strong non-proliferation guarantees could fuel a nuclear technology race in the Middle East.