The nine-member advisory board will meet twice a year starting this month and will help the Gulf state develop nuclear energy, the official WAM news agency said.

Swedish diplomat Mr Blix served as director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency for 16 years until he retired in 1998. In 2000, he was chosen by the United Nations Security Council to lead a UN disarmament commission for Iraq.

Additional members of the board include former chairman of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Jacques Bouchard and Japan Atomic Industrial Forum president Takuya Hattori.

The UAE said the board will issue regular reports that suggest potential areas for improvement. These reports will be available to the public. In December 2009 South Korea won a 40 billion US dollar (about 27 billion euro) order to build four nuclear reactor units in the UAE.

The four units could provide 25 percent of the country’s electricity demand by 2020.