CAIRO: Egypt refuses to sign additional measures allowing more stringent inspections of its nuclear program, especially since Israel has not even signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Foreign Ministry said according to newspapers Wednesday. Egypt has no intention of signing the Additional Protocol of the International Atomic Energy Association giving greater access to information and inspections, said Deputy Foreign Ministry Ramzy Ezzedine Ramzy in a speech Tuesday. "Egypt will not sign the Additional Protocol, since it's a voluntary thing, he stressed at a meeting of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs where he delivered a speech by Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. "In comparison with Israel, which chooses to stay outside international legitimacy and not join the Nonproliferation Treaty, Egypt will not accept any additional commitment, he added. Ramzy also complained that the US-Iranian dispute over the Islamic republic nuclear ambitions has made it difficult for a country like Egypt to obtain enriched uranium fuel, as exporters of the fuel have imposed several preconditions including commitments not to enrich uranium. Egypt says that such preconditions are a burden and make developing countries eternally dependent on developed countries in obtaining nuclear fuel. "In reality, the nonproliferation treaty doesn't prohibit the nuclear activities right including enrichment as long as these activities remain peaceful and under the supervision of the agency, Ramzy said. In February 2005, the IAEA disclosed that it was investigating Egypt's nuclear activities. It concluded that Egypt had conducted atomic research for as long as four decades, but the research did not aim to develop nuclear weapons and did not include uranium enrichment. Amid fears that a number of countries were developing nuclear weapons programs, the UN watchdog developed the Additional Protocol which allows more exhaustive investigations in places like universities, hospitals and industrial complexes that may not have nuclear materials, but manufacture the equipment involved. -AP
