The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) backed up Malaysia's plan to build a nuclear monitoring facility to enable regional countries to evaluate their nuclear programs, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said on Wednesday.
The IAEA was happy with the Malaysian move, that is, monitoring before thinking about building the facility, he told reporters after meeting IAEA Director-General Mohamed El Baradei at his office in Putrajaya, administrative center of Malaysia.
"I think people are worried even if you have nuclear energy for peaceful purposes it doesn't mean that your trouble is over," he said.
Building a nuke facility had to take into account the safety and standard requirements, he added.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said last Sunday that Malaysia would build a 26 million U.S. dollar nuke monitoring facility in its state of Pahang as a bid to promote safety of nuclear sites in Southeast Asia.
Syed Hamid said the existence of nuclear energy in one country was not only the problem of that country as it may cross border "if anything goes wrong".
He noted that the IAEA was willing to extend its cooperation in the construction and running of the planned facility, which is expected to be operational in three years.
