The Rwandan Cabinet has finally approved an
agreement with Russia to set up a nuclear plant by 2024. The move is also
expected to bolster relations between the two countries and advance the
latter’s interests in the region.
The Rwandan government maintains that the nuclear
project will help in advancement of technology in agriculture, energy
production and environment protection. Rosatom Global, a Russian government nuclear parastatal, has
already committed itself to execute the project, which is considered to be one
of the biggest in the Africa Continent.
This comes ahead of the first Russia-African Forum
next week in the city of Sochi, which President Paul Kagame has confirmed
attendance, accompanied by a delegation of senior government officials. The
nuclear power deal was first signed in Moscow last December and will see
Russian scientists set up a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology in
Kigali. It has signed similar co-operation agreements with Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania even as questions over the appropriateness of the technology loom
large.
The trade and political relationship between Rwanda
and Russia has steadily grown over the years as the European country seeks to
compete with the US, China and Western Europe for trade and political influence
in Africa.
Minister of Trade and
Industry, Soraya
Hakuziyaremye, met top Russian politicians in Moscow early this year, and
invited more Russian investors to explore what Rwanda has to offer. Rwanda’s
imports from Russia–mainly cereals, machinery, fertilisers, iron, and
steel–increased from US $20m worth in 2017 to U $31m worth in 2018, according
to Russia’s Export Centre data.
Exports to Russia, mainly agricultural products however remained a paltry US $3.6m worth, an increase from US $2.4m worth from 2017, which is a big negative balance of payment that Rwanda hopes to reverse. Kenya is Russia’s biggest trade partner in the EAC, followed by Tanzania, with main imports being chemicals, arms, and machinery.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/10/rwanda-approves-nuclear-plant-construction-deal-with-russia/
