Arab meeting on facing nuclear emergencies kicks off Wednesday

The Arab League's high-level meeting to discuss the final draft on a roadmap to face nuclear and radiation emergencies kicked off on Wednesday, with the participation of Kuwait. The meeting is key in Arab joint cooperation to prepare or face any nuclear emergency that may occur and protect people against its impact, said head of the Arab coordination plan to limit disaster impact and Bahrain's representative Major Hamad Al-Sawar in a speech at the event. He noted the importance of developing an Arab infrastructure that is ready to deal with any kind of nuclear or radiation related incidents. He added that the roadmap is a step to create a system specialized with disaster impact that spreads beyond geographic borders, which requires coordinating regional efforts to contain the impact. On his part, Director General of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA) Dr. Salem Al-Hamdi said the agency had set up an early warning system to detect radiation levels to protect the lives of people. The agency holds an annual meeting to study the possible effects of nuclear powerplants located close to Arab countries, he said. Source: Kuwait News Agency