His Majesty King Abdullah said Jordan will set a model in using nuclear power for peaceful purposes by applying the highest safety standards in its atomic energy programme.

At a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano, King Abdullah said Jordan is taking to heart the lessons learned from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor in Japan earlier this year, stressing that the Kingdom is in favour of IAEA member states committing to nuclear safety criteria.

His Majesty expressed Jordan’s support for a special forum the IAEA plans to hold next month on the establishment of a Middle East nuclear weapons free zone, saying that failure to achieve this goal will hamper peace and stability in the region as well as economic progress.

The IAEA chief, who arrived in the Kingdom on Oct. 9, also held separate meetings with Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Senate President Taher Masri and Lower House Speaker Faisal Fayez.