Ethiopia and Russia signed an agreement for cooperation on a program for Ethiopia to construct a nuclear power station within the coming ten years.

Inking the agreement were Getahun Mekuria, Ethiopia’s Minister of Innovation and Technology and Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom State Nuclear Agency’s Director-General, on the sidelines of the recently held Russia-Africa summit and economic forum in Sochi, Russia.

As per this agreement, Russia will help to develop the foundations for an Ethiopian nuclear industry, including the writing of safety regulations and establishing storage facilities for nuclear fuel and waste.

Moreover, the two sides will form a committee to draft a list of projects whose centerpiece will be a 3GW nuclear plant, and reactors to create radioactive isotopes for medical, agriculture and research purposes.

On a press release, Rosatom noted that the agreement would “serve as a catalyst for active dialogue between the two countries” and would create “a legal framework for cooperation in a wide range of sectors and for the implementation of selected joint projects”.

The agreement may as well, in the long run, lead to the construction of an Ethiopian Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology.

This agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed back in 2017.

Source: Construction Review