Egypt launches its first nuclear power plant

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Cairo on Monday to sign the agreement to officially launch Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, in Dabaa on the north coast. After the signing ceremony, El-Sisi and Putin announced the results of their talks on bilateral economic, military and political relations; the war against terrorism, the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt, and regional crises including Palestine, Libya and Syria.

Egypt’s Minister of Electricity, Mohamed Shaker, and Alexi Likhatchev, the Director General of Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom, have signed the document to officially commence the project. The nuclear plant, will cost up to $21 billion, and is expected to be completed by 2028-2029, Rosatom announced on Monday. Russia will provide a loan that will cover 85% of the construction costs, Likhachyov said. The company will service the plant’s four reactors for 60 years, Likhachyov added. Putin said that, “upon the completion of the Dabaa project, Egypt will not only benefit from having a nuclear plant but also from gaining the latest and safest technology of nuclear energy.”

The Egyptian president said that both leaders discussed ways to boost economic ties, including efforts to develop Russian investments in the Egyptian Suez Canal Economic Zone and to establish a Russian free-trade zone. “We have agreed on mandating our ministers to follow up with such issues and resolve any obstacles to the finalising of projects that would be executed in the near future, in line with the spirit of coordination that has distinguished recent negotiations on constructing the Dabaa nuclear plant,” El-Sisi said. Furthermore, Putin said that economic cooperation with Egypt “is taking on new dynamics in trade and economic exchange.” Stating that, “during the past nine months, economic exchange between both countries have reached more than $4 billion.” Putin confirmed that he had agreed with the Egyptian president on the necessity of continuing negotiations on the establishment of a free-trade zone between Egypt and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

El-Sisi also noted that the two countries intend to increase cooperation in fighting terrorism. Putin pointed out that his country is willing to boost assistance to Egypt in its war against terrorism in the coming period by enhancing military cooperation and the capabilities of the Egyptian Armed Forces. According to El-Sisi, both leaders agreed on the necessity of countries preventing terrorists from passing through their territory. “I agreed with President Putin on the importance of exchanging information between our involved agencies in combatting terrorism, especially when it comes to the movement of terrorists from politically unstable areas to other countries,” President El-Sisi said.

On the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt, Putin highlighted positive developments in security measures at Egyptian airports, in light of a recent Russian security agency report. While, according to Russian Tass News agency Russia’s Minister of Transport, Maxim Sokolov, said, “air travel between Cairo and Moscow will resume in February 2018”.

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