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Wright: Civilian Nuclear Deal Would Cement Long-Term Saudi Partnership, With Uranium and Rare Earths

April 17, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:05:30

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

The segment opened with Energy Secretary Chris Wright describing a broad memorandum with Saudi Arabia covering cooperation on energy resources and infrastructure in both countries, mining cooperation, and civilian nuclear technology and energy production, according to the broadcast. Joining live from Doha, Wright said the upside of a nuclear energy deal is that it cements a long-term partnership, since nuclear facilities and mining are long-term undertakings, according to Wright.

Wright said Saudi Arabia’s uranium resources, which he believes the United States would mine in partnership, also carry a lot of rare earth elements as co-products, which could be very helpful to U.S. security, according to Wright. Asked whether Saudi Arabia wants a nuclear weapon, he said he does not think so at all, and described Saudi Arabia as a close strategic ally since its foundation that was concerned when the Biden administration pulled away and focused on foes like Iran, and is glad to see the United States focused again on its Middle East allies, according to Wright.

On investment, Wright said all three nations on the trip — the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar — are keen on close partnership and want to put most of their capital investment in the United States, aligning with President Trump’s agenda to re-industrialize America, and that investment was a topic in all three countries, according to Wright.

Why it matters

The Fox News segment states the administration’s Saudi nuclear rationale as Wright presented it in April 2025: partnership cemented through nuclear and mining, rare earths as a co-benefit, and Gulf capital flowing into U.S. industry.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino on Fox News - April 17, 2025”, 2025-04-17 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-04-17). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.