Anqari, Minister of Higher Education, opened on Monday a symposium on Peaceful Purposes of Nuclear Technology in the GCC. The symposium, held under the patronage of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, addresses strategic planning to introduce nuclear technology into GCC countries, nuclear energy, protection from nuclear reactors radiations, and radioactive isotopes. KAAU established its Nuclear Engineering Department in 1975 and obtained international academic approval in 2003. The department, the first of its kind in the region, organized the current event in response to the 2006 GCC summit in Riyadh which focused on strategic planning for the peaceful uses of nuclear technology in GCC member countries. Osama Sadiq Al-Tayyeb, KAAU Director said: “Using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is an old practice, starting approximately half a century ago, and developing over the years through the contributions of scientists until it reached its current level to the great benefit of humanity.” Muhammad Bin Sbayan Al-Johani, head of KAAU's Nuclear Engineering Department, and Peter Salema, representative of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke on the symposium's opening day. – Okaz/SG __
