Bahrain and France have signed a memorandum of understanding on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The ceremony took place in Manama in the presence of King Hamad bin Isa and French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting the Gulf kingdom.
The document was signed by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot. The goal is to develop and maintain the skills required for a civil nuclear program through specialized training. For now, the text does not specify any reactors, sites or construction timelines.
The agreement builds on an energy relationship that is already under way. Macron highlighted the importance of cooperation in the sector and the existing coordination between the two countries to ensure security and continuity of supply. The visit to Manama followed a stop in the United Arab Emirates, where Paris strengthened its defense ties.
For Bahrain, this is another step in a direction it has only recently resumed. The country suspended its still-embryonic nuclear program in 2011 after the Fukushima accident. In July 2025, it signed a memorandum with the United States, linked to the FIRST program for small modular reactors. That agreement, too, was a first step with no immediate commitment to build.
France thus enters a market that Washington had already approached. Paris brings the experience of a complete nuclear supply chain, from personnel training to fuel cycle management, and has been working with Gulf countries on civil nuclear power since the study launched by the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2006.
Training is the essential step before any technology choice. If the training programs get under way, Bahrain will have a pool of technicians able to evaluate offers, whether American or French, when the time comes to choose a reactor.
