UAE and United States signed a nuclear pact on Thursday, which is much needed for meeting growing energy needs of the nation.

The 123 Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation, signed by the UAE Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba and US Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher, would prove to be a milestone for securing future energy needs of UAE.

The move would open doors of US companies to invest in UAE for building nuclear power plants, which has been intended to be used for peaceful purposes.

Hailing the nuclear pact, Al Otaiba added, “This agreement supports a new global gold standard for the development of peaceful, civilian nuclear energy, by countries that need nuclear energy for their economic development."

Al Otaiba ruled out the possibility of using the deal for non-civilian purposes and said that the nation would put its due contribution to mitigate proliferation and promote nuclear energy as a safe and cheap source of power.

The country is committed not to reprocess spend fuel as per terms of bilateral civilian nuclear agreement.

UAE has been facing acute shortage of power with the demand is expected to touch 40,000 megawatts reporting a growth of nine percent on annual basis.