The announcement follows a series of significant progress milestones for the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme and its cornerstone, the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.  Al Hammadi has led the development of the programme and its biggest project the Barakah Plant since its inception.

The WNA, headquartered in London, supports the development of nuclear energy programmes worldwide, and its members are responsible for 70% of the world's nuclear energy generation. The members appoint a general manager and elect a board of directors of 20 members, where the board performs its duties related to managing the Association and setting its policies and strategic objectives.

This election comes against the backdrop of the UAE Programme's exceptional achievements, specifically the development of the Barakah Plant in the Al Dhafra region in Abu Dhabi nearly a decade ago, which offers a new benchmark for all new nuclear energy projects around the world.

Two of the four units of the Barakah Plant are commercially operational, while the remaining two units have reached the final stages of development. The Barakah Plant is the first multi-unit operating nuclear plant in the UAE and Arab World, the largest contributor to accelerating decarbonisation of the energy sector in the UAE and the region, and a pivotal contributor to achieving the goals of the UAE's strategic initiative for Net Zero by 2050.

Since 2008, ENEC has been focused on delivering UAE Programme, specifically on implementing all national nuclear energy regulations and international standards of safety, security, quality, transparency and non-proliferation.

There is now a focus on delivering the next phase of the wider programme as ENEC moves into R&D and innovation for the UAE's growing nuclear sector, including SMR development, additional unit development, programme export and regional power export, as well as exploring other clean energy developments such as synthetic fuels and green hydrogen.