The just-concluded Russian -African summit has seen two African countries Ethiopia and Rwanda sign deals with Russian State Atomic Cooperation ROSATOM to put up nuclear energy research centres in their respective countries. The agreements between the two countries and ROSATOM emphasizes the importance of setting up structures that comply with the International Atomic Agency regulations, among other things.
Russia and Rwanda
Rwanda in recent years has shown interest in exploring nuclear power. The last day of the summit saw the signing of a Nuclear deal to develop the first Nuclear Center for Science and Technology (NCST) in Rwanda.
The agreement to build the NCST was signed by ROSATOM Director Alexey Likhachev and Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure Claver Gatete. The NCST will include the construction of a small Nuclear water-cooled reactor with a capacity to produce 10MW. The centre will also be used to produce radioisotopes for applications in medical research, Agriculture, environment management, oil and ore exploration, training and capacity building for African nuclear scientists.
Speaking to BBC’s George Ndirangu, former regional VP for ROSATOM Victor Polikarpov said it was too early to speak about costs for the Nuclear powerplant since the project is still premature and both countries need to have a solid intergovernmental agreement to build a nuclear power plant.
Russia and Ethiopia
Russia and Ethiopia also signed a similar agreement during the summit to develop an intergovernmental framework of safe use of Nuclear energy. The agreement was signed by ROSATOM director Alexey Likhachev and Ethiopia Innovation and Technology Minister Getahun Mecuria Kuma. The deal signals the start of dialogues between the two countries and the creation of legal frameworks on the exploration of nuclear technologies.
Some of the areas Ethiopia seeks to partner with ROSATOM Include developing nuclear Infrastructures, applying nuclear and radiation safety regulations, sourcing of radiation materials and setting up of storage facilities for nuclear materials, radioactive substances and radioactive wastes. The agreement also called for the formation of a joint technical committee between the two parties. The committee will oversee the implementation of strategies put in place in the contract, such as seminars, conferences and peer exchange programmes. The end goal of the agreement is to see one day a Nuclear centre for Science put up in Ethiopia for research and constructive use of nuclear energy similar to the NCST project in Rwanda.
The other country that was in talks to partner with ROSATOM was South Africa, but President Cyril Ramaphosa put the negotiations on hold.
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