President Hosni Mubarak struck several deliberate notes on Monday when he announced that Egypt is ready to embark on a peaceful nuclear energy programme that will include the construction of several nuclear power stations. A presidential decree reshaping the Supreme Council for Peaceful Nuclear Energy is expected to be issued within days, and Mubarak has already asked the government to prepare a draft law that will regulate the coordination between the various national nuclear energy institutes and determine their roles in the upcoming programme. While Mubarak's announcement was clearly timed to demonstrate Egypt's awareness of the growth in global demand for energy and the increasing cost of conventional fossil fuels -- the price of crude oil broke the $93 per barrel ceiling last week -- it still managed to generate sceptical reactions at home. The announcement, point out critics, came five days before the ruling National Democratic Party's annual convention was due to open. The NDP is chaired by Mubarak and the state-owned press has predictably done its best to present the convention as the most important political event of the year. Announcing the launch of a national peaceful nuclear energy programme obviously promotes the NDP's image, its convention and, above all, boosts the president's popularity. Reviving Egypt's long-stalled nuclear programme, after all, is perhaps the only issue over which the government, the public and opposition seem to agree. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Egypt has every right to generate peaceful nuclear energy to meet future energy demands. And at a time when conventional energy sources such as natural gas and oil are dwindling, nuclear power could well be the way to energy security for future generations. The spin-offs, too, will be considerable, not least in terms of foreign investment. So why, one might ask, has it taken so long for Egypt to move in this direction? In 1963, the late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser took the decision to build Egypt's first nuclear power station. Progress on the project was delayed by the 1967 War with Israel and the subsequent defeat. Nor was the project revived following the 1973 War. All attempts to do so were thwarted for logistical and political reasons and, following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, out of safety concerns. But Chernobyl was 21 years ago. And under Mubarak, Egypt, as we are constantly reminded, has enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and stability. There have been no wars, or even the prospect of wars. Yet though nuclear scientists and atomic experts have long expressed their eagerness to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy programme their voices failed to resonate with the authorities for what many perceived were political considerations. What guarantees, then, now exist that such considerations will not continue to be an obstacle in the path of any serious nuclear energy programme? Mubarak's emphasis on Egypt's full commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines certainly sent a clear message to the international community, and to Washington in particular. "Securing sufficient energy supplies for the nation is an integral part of its national security and an important step in its march towards the future," the president said. Will Egypt be allowed to achieve this very legitimate aspiration? The mounting threats of war against Iran for proceeding with its own nuclear programme is a reminder of the kinds of obstacles independent nuclear energy attempts in this troubled part of the world are likely to face. US and Israeli claims that Iran's nuclear energy programme isn't for peaceful purposes remain unproven, yet the prospects for war or military strikes against Iran are a serious and very real possibility. Egypt needs nuclear energy. Egyptians need nuclear power plants and, above all, they need to know that national security is above purely partisan political considerations. Until they are reassured on this point the sceptics will not go away.
