VZCZCXRO5077
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #0238/01 0371514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061514Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7273
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0923
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1694
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0934
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1528
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0246
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0528
RUCPDC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0312
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC

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. 
 
LA LIME