In order to “cover the energy needs of the population,” less than a quarter of whom have access to electricity, Burkina Faso’s government said on Friday (October 13, 2023) that it has signed a deal with Russia for the construction of a nuclear power plant.
Since 2022, 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 has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a nuclear power plant,” the announcement read.
“The construction of this nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso is intended to cover the energy needs of the population,” said the statement.
Simon-Pierre Boussim, the energy minister of Burkina Faso, signed the deal during the Russian Energy Week in Moscow.
The agreement “fulfils the wish of the president of (Burkina) Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, expressed last July at the Russia-Africa summit during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin,” According to the statement.
The “memorandum is the first document in the field of the peaceful use of atomic energy between Russia and Burkina Faso,” according to a statement from Russia’s state nuclear energy agency Rosatom.
According to that statement, the agreement paved the way for future collaboration in fields like the utilization 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.
Since September 2022, when Traoré took control of the country in a coup, the ruling junta has distanced itself from France, its longtime ally and former colonial power.
Ref: AFP
