Egypt, Russia sign nuclear fuel purchase and wide-ranging cooperation pact for El-Dabaa

According to a cabinet statement, the step marks a new milestone in the implementation of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant and further strengthens the country’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.

The Comprehensive Cooperation Programme Agreement encompasses multiple areas, including nuclear energy, medical applications such as the production of radioactive isotopes for cancer treatment, advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing for nuclear applications, and telecommunications.

The signing coincided with the installation of the reactor pressure vessel for Unit 1 of the El-Dabaa plant, an event attended via videoconference by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It also took place during Egypt’s celebration of the fifth annual Nuclear Energy Day on 19 November, which commemorates the 2015 intergovernmental agreement that set the groundwork for the construction and operation of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant and launched its peaceful nuclear programme.

The ceremony at the El-Dabaa site was attended by Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat; Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) Chairman Sherif Helmy; Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev; and several ministers and senior officials from both sides, reflecting the project’s strategic importance and the depth of Egyptian–Russian cooperation.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, PM Madbouly met with Rosatom’s Likhachev and his accompanying delegation.