Meanwhile, the government of another African country — Nigeria — is elaborating conditions for a joint project with Rosatom on building a national nuclear research center and an NPP.
The document, signed on June 22, 2018 between Rwanda and the Russian state corporation, provides for the legal basis for bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the development of nuclear infrastructure and programs aimed at raising awareness about nuclear technologies and their application, as well as the use of radioisotopes and radiation technologies in industry, agriculture and healthcare.
Both parties have agreed to set up joint working groups to reveal projects to work on. The next step will be the preparation of a framework intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Rwanda, The Guardian adds.
Referring again to Nigeria, the newspaper reminds that in October 2017, this African country signed several agreements with Russia on the construction and operation of an NPP and a nuclear research center that will house a multipurpose research reactor. On behalf of the Government of Nigeria, the document was signed by the Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) while on behalf of the Russian side — Rosatom state corporation.
According to The Guardian, this deal was reached after lengthy talks, as a result of which Russia and Nigeria signed in 2009 their first agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy.
In recent years, leading African countries are exploring the possibility of using nuclear energy to overcome energy shortage. In this regard, it is hard to overstate the importance of efforts aimed at developing a peaceful atom in Africa, since now the Republic of South Africa is the only African country with an operating nuclear power plant and it is this country that produces the cheapest electricity in South Africa now.