Russian State-owned nuclear group Rosatom has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Infrastructure of Rwanda. The MoU covers cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The MoU also represents the first agreement between the two countries regarding the peaceful uses of atomic energy and was signed by Rosatom deputy director- general and international affairs director Nikolay Spasskiy and Rwandan ambassador to Russia Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya.

The MoU sets out the legal foundations for the institution of nuclear cooperation between the two parties. This cooperation will include the development of nuclear infrastructure in the African country. It will also include the creation of public awareness programmes regarding nuclear technologies and their uses, as well as the role of radioisotopes and radiation technologies in agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing.

Rwanda and Rosatom will set up joint working groups that will identify specific cooperation projects. The next step in this bilateral cooperation is expected to be the drawing up of a framework Russia-Rwanda intergovernmental agreement.

Meanwhile, separately, Rosatom and its African partner institutions are currently running the 2018 edition of the annual youth nuclear video competition, entitled Atoms Empowering Africa. This is open to young Africans, from all sub-Saharan Africa countries, between (and including) the ages of 18 to 30, and has a closing date of August 25. The videos can be made by individuals or by teams of up to three people each. Rosatom’s partner institutions in this initiative are the African Young Generation in Nuclear association, the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers and the South African Network for Nuclear Education, Science and Technology.

“We at Rosatom view education and youth development as a priority,” stressed Rosatom Central and Southern Africa CEO Dmitry Shornikov. “We . . . see it as one of our key missions to assist the brightest young minds from across the globe to work together in solving global challenges that will shape the future of energy and the world as we know it.”

The videos have to be on the potential of nuclear power to strengthen the socioeconomic development of the continent. Each video has to be between 60 seconds and 120 seconds in length. The best ten will be shortlisted and also placed on Rosatom’s Facebook page. The three videos which receive the most ‘likes’ will be named the winners of the competition.

All the winners will be rewarded with an all-expenses- paid trip to Russia, from October 6 to October 12. The trip will include a visit to a Russian nuclear power plant and to the science city of Obninsk, which contains numerous nuclear and other scientific installations. They will also meet African students studying nuclear physics at the MEPhl nuclear university (which has its main campus in Moscow but has a further 21 satellite campuses at another 20 cities across Russia). Currently, more than 50 African students, from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, are studying nuclear disciplines in Russia. There will also be cultural tours of Moscow.