PREVIEW
In addition to plans for reactors in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, Rosatom has agreed to plan and build a nuclear plant in Ethiopia
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s decision to sign a deal with Russia to plan and build a nuclear power plant in Ethiopia was one of several diplomatic coups for Moscow at a nuclear forum hosted by state-run energy firm Rosatom on 25 September.
Niger's Mines Minister Ousmane Abarchi also revealed his country’s plans to build two 2,000-megawatt nuclear reactors in partnership with Rosatom. The military junta in Niamey already has close links with the Kremlin and its Africa Corps mercenary group.
Rosatom has been at the heart of Russia’s foreign policy offer to African states this year. In July, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev and Rosatom promised to construct solar and nuclear power plants in Burkina Faso and Mali and to train local technicians (AC Vol 66 No 18, Putin’s gambit in the Sahel as France leaves the stage). The prospect of training has also been offered to Ethiopia.
In addition to the nuclear plant, Abiy and President Vladimir Putin promised deeper cooperation on agriculture and healthcare, and while a nuclear plant would be at least a decade away, the agreement secures extra influence for Moscow in Addis Ababa.
As two BRICS members, Abiy’s tilt to Moscow makes diplomatic sense, but it is unlikely to have been welcomed in Brussels and elsewhere.
At the Africa Climate Summit earlier in September, Abiy was happy to accept over US$150 million in pledged finance from the European Union to expand its electricity grid and to supply its neighbours with electricity from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams (AC Vol 66 No 19, Addis summit pushes continent’s green industry ambition). But the EU is reluctant to work with and invest in countries with close links to Russia. India’s purchase of Russian oil and joint military exercises are a major obstacle to a trade pact between the EU and India.
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