Since last year, Burkina Faso has been governed by a military junta and has made an effort to diversify its international allies, particularly by extending its ties to Russia.
The government of Burkina Faso said on Friday that it has reached a deal with Russia to build a nuclear power plant to “cover the energy needs of the population,” of which less than a quarter has access to electricity.
Since last year, Burkina Faso has been governed by a military junta and has made an effort to diversify its international allies, particularly by extending its ties to Russia.
In a statement, it was stated that “the government of Burkina Faso has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a nuclear power plant.”
It said, “This nuclear power station is being built in Burkina Faso to meet the country’s energy needs.
Simon-Pierre Boussim, the energy minister for Burkina Faso, and Nikolay Spassky, the deputy director general of Russia’s state atomic energy agency Rosatom, signed the deal during the Russian Energy Week in Moscow.
The statement added that the declaration “fulfils the wish of (Burkina Faso’s) President, Captain Ibrahim Traore, expressed last July at the Russia-Africa summit during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.”
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According to a statement from Rosatom, “the memorandum is the first document in the field of the peaceful use of atomic energy between Russia and Burkina Faso.”
According to that statement, the agreement paved the way for future collaboration in fields like the utilisation of nuclear energy in industry, agriculture, and medicine.
According to data from the African Development Bank, just under 23% of Burkina Faso’s population had access to electricity at the end of 2020.
Burkina’s nuclear power plant construction: A deal will be signed in Moscow on Friday.
A deal was reached on Friday to build the nuclear power facility that President Ibrahim Traoré had requested in a July interview with Vladimir Putin of Russia.
The Burkina Faso Ministry of Energy and Rosatom, the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, will sign a memorandum of agreement for the development of a nuclear power plant on Friday, October 13, 2023 in Moscow, the AIB has learned from reliable sources.
This agreement will be signed concurrently with Russian Energy Week, which will be held from October 11 to October 13, 2023.
Recall that at the Russia-Africa meeting at the end of July 2023, Ibrahim Traoré, the president of Burkina Faso, informed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of the significance of building, if possible, a power plant as soon as possible. Burkina Faso has nuclear energy that can meet the subregion’s energy needs.
