Rwanda Signs Nuclear Infrastructure Memorandum with Russia's Rosatom Covering Small Modular Reactors
Rwanda's national news agency (RNA) reported on October 31 that the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board (RAEB) and Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear infrastructure on October 28, on the sidelines of the third Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. Rwanda's ambassador to Russia, Nzabamwita, and Rosatom deputy director Spassky signed for the two sides.
The memorandum covers three areas of cooperation: developing small modular reactors (SMRs), building a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology, and training personnel in the nuclear field. Ambassador Nzabamwita said the related construction work would begin soon and would create jobs for Rwandan youth.
The document is a memorandum on the assessment and development of nuclear infrastructure, not a reactor construction contract: the reactor technology, site, financing and licensing all remain undecided. Under Rwanda's plans, the country's first nuclear generation capacity is targeted at 110 megawatts in the 2030–2033 window.
The cooperation builds on earlier steps: an intergovernmental agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy in 2018, an agreement on a nuclear science and technology centre in 2019, a small modular reactor roadmap agreed in June–July this year, and an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review of Rwanda's nuclear infrastructure in July this year.
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said 102 Rwandan students are currently studying at Russian universities.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：卢旺达首都基加利市中心。摄影 Amakuru，CC BY，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Downtown Kigali, capital of Rwanda. Photo by Amakuru, CC BY, via Wikimedia Commons.
