Russia and India are discussing the construction of nuclear power plants in Africa, including Ethiopia and the Middle East, it is a new era of cooperation in nuclear energy, Indian Ambassador to Moscow Venkatesh Varma told.
“There are also good prospects for cooperation between Russia and India in nuclear power in third countries. We are already working on such a scheme in Bangladesh – the construction of Ruppur NPP is underway. Now Russia is quite active in building nuclear power plants in the Middle East and Africa. This opens a new way for us to cooperate”, – the ambassador said.
According to him, Russia and India may start projects like the Ruppur nuclear power plant in Africa.
“Russia already has agreements in this area with a number of African countries. Ethiopia is one of them, there are several countries in the Middle East. These will be Russian projects, but with India’s participation. Negotiations are still at an early stage, but we hope that this will be a new era of cooperation between Russia and India in nuclear energy. This is due to the success of Russian-Indian cooperation in Bangladesh”, – the diplomat said.
Russia is one of India’s key partners in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Moscow and New Delhi are collaborating on the construction of the Ruppur nuclear power plant, which is being built according to a Russian project 160 kilometres from the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka. The first unit is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2023 and the second unit in 2024.