The military regime of Burkina Faso has signed an agreement with the Russian government for the construction of a nuclear power plant. The government of Burkina Faso said in a statement that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia’s state atomic energy agency, ROSATOM for the construction of the plant, which would cover the energy needs of the population.
The agreement was signed at the Russian Energy Week in Moscow, where Burkina Faso’s energy minister Simon-Pierre Boussim and Rosatom’s deputy director general Nikolay Spassky were present.
The statement said that the memorandum fulfilled the wish of Burkina Faso’s president, Ibrahim Traore, who expressed his interest in nuclear cooperation with Russia during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa summit in July.
Rosatom said that the memorandum was the first document in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy between Russia and Burkina Faso and that it opened up opportunities for collaboration in various sectors, such as industry, agriculture, and medicine.
According to the African Development Bank, only 23 percent of Burkina Faso’s population had access to electricity at the end of 2020. The country relies heavily on imports from neighboring Ivory Coast and Ghana, as well as local production from hydroelectric or solar power.
Boussim said that Burkina Faso aimed to build nuclear power plants by 2030 in order to solve the problem of the energy deficit and boost the industrialization of Africa.
The only nuclear power plant on the African continent is located near Cape Town in South Africa.
Burkina Faso has been under military rule since a coup in September 2022, which led to a deterioration of relations with France, its former colonial power and historic partner. In search of new allies, the country has turned to Moscow, which has offered humanitarian and military assistance.