SAG READY TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR COOPERATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 000238

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S, EEB/ESC, ISN
DOE FOR M. SCOTT, T.SPERL, G.PERSON, A.BIENAWSKI, L.PARKER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG TRGY KNNP PREL BEXP IAEA SF
SUBJECT: SAG READY TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR COOPERATION

REF: A. PRETORIA 215

B. PRETORIA 173

C. PRETORIA 103

D. 08 PRETORIA 2165 AND PREVIOUS

E. UDDIN-PARKER E-MAIL 05 FEBRUARY

F. STATE 6083


1. (SBU) South Africa is ready to sign the Agreement on
Cooperation in Research and Development of Nuclear Energy.
The SAG would like to sign this agreement at the Ministerial
level and implement it as a "living" and broad agreement.
The SAG will follow the USG lead on whether it is signed by
the Secretary of Energy or State. The SAG is eager to launch
a related Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear Energy
Cooperation. South Africa is open to using the agreement and
the coordinating committee as an opportunity for broader
discussions on nuclear energy, fuel cycle, and even
non-proliferation topics. Meanwhile, other bilateral
initiatives, like return of HEU spent fuel, Megaports, and
WMD Commodities Identification Training are proceeding. End
Summary.

--------------
Signing the Bilateral Agreement
on Cooperation in R&D of Nuclear Energy
--------------


2. (SBU) Department of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director
Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Michiel Combrink
informed Energy Officer on February 5 that the SAG is ready
to sign the long-awaited bilateral Agreement on Cooperation
in R&D in Nuclear Energy (reftels),based on securing
approval from the President's office. Combrink said the
agreement was "in binding", which is a purely mechanical
step. (He emphasized that if the Ministers happened to be
meeting soon, the SAG was fully ready to sign.) Combrink
repeated the SAG's desire that the agreement be signed at the
Minister level. Embassy supports this position. The signing
of the agreement will be an opportunity to gauge and advance
other bilateral energy initiatives, both nuclear and
non-nuclear. In addition, the two sides can lay out a clear
road-map for fruitful implementation of the agreement,
including discussing launching a related Joint Standing
Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation (JSCNEC). Combrink
said the SAG would be open to the agreement and an associated
joint committee serving as vehicles for discussing broader
issues such as fuel cycle issues of enrichment and
reprocessing. In addition, even wider non-proliferation
issues covered under the IAEA Nuclear Suppliers Group and the
NPT, for expample, could be discussed, if mutually desired.
Combrink said that the Department of Minerals and Energy
would be the logical implementing partner for the agreement,
but the Department of Foreign Affairs would follow the lead
of the U.S. Department of State in determining level of
involvement - and potential signing.

--------------
Other Cooperation Initiatives
--------------


3. (SBU) DOE OFFER ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE: Energy Officer
used the meeting to touch on a range of nuclear energy
cooperation initiatives. Combrink said that the recent offer
of assistance from the U.S. DOE for enhancing security at
nuclear and radiological sites (Ref F) was being evaluated by
a SAG inter-agency process. He could not comment on the
Qa SAG inter-agency process. He could not comment on the
timing of a response. (Note: Combrink expressed
disappointment with the U.S. Nuclear Threat Initiative report
that highlighted the 2007 Pelindaba security incident (Ref B)
and claimed that the SAG had refused an offer of U.S.
assistance, without any specific description of the
assistance referred to. End Note.)


4. (SBU) RETURN OF SPENT FUEL: The SAG cabinet recently
approved the joint feasibility study for return of
U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium spent fuel (Ref C). DOE
plans to send a technical team on March 10-11 and Energy
Officer will participate in these meetings.


PRETORIA 00000238 002 OF 002



5. (SBU) COMMODITY IDENTIFICATION TRAINING: Combrink and
Department of Trade and Industry Director Non-Proliferation
Daan Van Beek said the SAG would like to advance the WMD
Commodities Identification Training (CIT) initiative,
building on South Africa's participation in the December 2007
U.S.-Argentina workshop (Ref e-mail). Combrink proposed that
the initiative proceed on a bilateral basis and requested
that DOE schedule sending a team to meet with appropriate
South African agencies to determine next steps and
appropriate point of contact. They noted that many SAG
procedures and training were already on par or more advanced
than those presented in the workshop, but the SAG customs
office could clearly benefit from the CIT, particularly with
respect to select source material, training of trainers
experience, and web-based programs.


6. (SBU) MEGAPORTS AND MORE: Transport Officer said that she
and the DHS representative were arranging a meeting with the
South African Revenue Service (SARS) point of contact to
advance the Megaports inititive targeted for the Port of
Durban. Combrink said he hoped that the new Secretary of
Energy and his staff would be interested in other
opportunities for cooperation outside the nuclear arena, such
as solar energy, other aspects of renewable energy, clean
coal technology, and energy efficiency.


7. (SBU) COMMENT: The length of time to move these long
percolating nuclear cooperation initiatives has been
frustrating, but securing Presidential approval of the
bilateral cooperation agreement is a critical step. Embassy
would like to respond as soon as possible on signing
modalities and planning for fruitful implementation. DOE can
confirm SAG's readiness to sign and implement the agreement
with DFA Deputy Director Michiel Combrink ( 27 12 351 1584;
combrinkmj@foreign.gov.za) if that is useful, keeping Embassy
involved and informed. After appropriate high-level signing
is arranged, both sides can identify a functional point of
contact at the respective energy ministries.

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