KUWAIT CITY (AFP) – Persian Gulf states have sought the assistance of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency for their planned nuclear technology program, Kuwait's foreign minister said Sunday.

"We have actually started contacts with the IAEA to inquire about the fields it can help with to complete a study to use nuclear technology," Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah told reporters.

Persian Gulf Cooperation Council leaders at a two-day summit in Riyadh last week ordered a study to formulate a joint program for the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

"The decision was not a reaction to the behavior of any country," Sheikh Mohammad said in response to a question on whether the plan was aimed at countering the Iranian nuclear program.

"This reflects the PGCC's deep conviction that the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes is the absolute right of every country as long as it fully complies with international charters for the use of nuclear energy," he said.

The GCC groups energy-rich Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all neighbours of Iran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday offered to share Iranian-made nuclear technology with Arab states in the Gulf, according to media reports.