Paris, March 21, SPA -- The head of the U.N.'s Atomic Energy Agencyon Monday trumpeted the benefits of nuclear power asconsumers demand more energy and new environmentalprotection rules risk raising the costs of fossil fuels. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic EnergyAgency, focused on the prospects of nuclear power at thestart of a two-day conference bringing together industryministers and high-level government officials from morethan 60 countries. "It is my hope that during this conference we canconsider how each of these factors can be addressed toensure that nuclear energy remains a viable source of safe,secure and environmentally benign energy," ElBaradei saidin an opening speech. The conference, sponsored by the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development and the UAEA, was to plot outenergy needs and examine threats to the global environmentin the future. "This meeting is all about energy policy and the use ofnuclear power in the 21st century," said Karen Daifuku, aspokeswoman for the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency. She saidthe ministerial-level conference will be the first of itskind on the future of nuclear energy since the 1950s. Thorny topics on the agenda of the two-day meeting include discussions about security measures to prevent the theft or disappearance of fissile material used in nuclear power plants and efforts to crack down on the proliferation of nuclear weapons. --SPA1248 Local Time 0948 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/248376