Washington, Dec 16: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today questioned why oil-rich Saudi Arabia might want nuclear power and said she wanted to know more about plans by Gulf states to study nuclear energy.

''I'd like to know more about it and I think it's something that we should have discussions (about),'' Rice told Reuters when asked about the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council's decision to study a possible joint civil atomic program.

The move by the GCC, which includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, has raised concerns the Gulf nations may be interested in pursuing nuclear arms to protect themselves should Iran acquire such weapons.

''I think one would have to wonder about the need of some states for nuclear power given their own energy resources,'' Rice added.

''It's one thing for a state to be running out of natural gas in 34 years, which is the case of Egypt, it is quite another for the state to be the most oil-rich state in the world,'' she said in a reference to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.

''I think there is no reason not to discuss it,'' she added, saying U.S. President George W. Bush has been a proponent of nuclear power provided there are safeguards to limit the risk of proliferation.


Reuters