Russian state nuclear power firm Rosatom is playing a crucial role in securing Africa’s energy future, the director of the Africa Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
Speaking at the ‘Russia-Africa: What’s Next?’ forum at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Anatoly Bashkin said the African continent “is becoming increasingly attractive for investments in high-tech industries.”
“In particular, the state corporation Rosatom is actively working to promote projects in African countries for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the construction of centers based on multipurpose research reactors, and, in the future, nuclear power plants. This should strengthen the continent’s energy security and give an additional boost to its industrial development,” he said.
Bashkin also referred to “the positive dynamics” of growing trade turnover between Russia and African nations, emphasizing that many Russian companies have been operating in the region for a considerable time.
“Russia is ready to assist the continent’s countries in achieving genuine sovereignty and to actively resist Western attempts to impose politicized solutions to internal issues on our African friends, based on the principle formulated by Africans themselves: ‘African solutions to African problems,’” he added.
Last October, Burkina Faso signed an agreement with Rosatom for the construction of a nuclear power plant, following a request made by its interim leader, Ibrahim Traore, to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg.
In May, Mali’s Energy Ministry announced plans for the construction of a 200 megawatt (MW) solar power plant near the capital, Bamako, by NovaWind – the wind energy division of Rosatom.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Algeria signed several agreements in March for the development of cooperation in nuclear energy with the Russian energy firm on the sidelines of the 13th international ATOMEXPO exhibition and forum in Sochi. South Africa is also partnering with Rosatom on a floating nuclear power plant project to help alleviate the country’s protracted electricity crisis.
Rosatom started building the fourth power unit of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in Egypt in January. The project, launched in 2017, is being financed jointly by Moscow and Cairo, while Rosatom will supply nuclear fuel to the facility throughout its entire life cycle. For the first ten years, Russia is expected to provide Egypt with assistance in training personnel and operating the plant.