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Secretary Chris Wright Discusses Saudi Energy and Nuclear Cooperation on Al Arabiya

April 14, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:13:17

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

What happened

In Riyadh, Al Arabiya’s Hadley Gamble asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright about his discussions that day with the Saudi energy minister, noting a large focus on nuclear energy. Wright said the talks were comprehensive across energy sectors — oil, natural gas, solar, energy storage, hydropower, and industry — with the largest focus indeed on nuclear, according to the interview.

Wright said he expected that in the near term the two countries would sign a broader agreement on energy-sector cooperation covering partnerships, investments, and research, with nuclear energy one of those areas. A specific agreement for partnership in developing commercial nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia would take a little longer — months, not weeks — he said. Asked whether the Saudis would likely sign a Section 123 agreement with the United States, Wright said yes, certainly: it cannot happen without one, and a 123 agreement plus a broader, more specific framework for how the cooperation works would be needed, but based on discussions so far he thought reaching it was likely, as he stated it.

On oil prices, Wright said he cannot predict prices, that prices partly reflect the market’s view of the future, and that current prices likely reflect excessive worry about future economic growth amid negotiations. He said he was very optimistic about President Trump’s agenda and its effect on economic growth in the U.S. and the world, and that the president is a master negotiator whose first term turned people’s fears about his policies into strong economic growth, according to the interview.

Why it matters

The Riyadh interview states the sequencing of U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation — a broad energy agreement first, a 123 agreement as the legal precondition for commercial nuclear work — directly from the secretary managing it.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Wright’s April 14, 2025 expectation of a broader U.S.-Saudi energy cooperation agreement in the near term and a 123 agreement as likely, with commercial nuclear specifics taking months, is a checkable timeline flagged for the scoreboard editor.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Alarabiya News’s Hadley Gamble”, 2025-04-14 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-04-14). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.