Russia’s export of nuclear infrastructure in Egypt – how has Russian involvement changed the Global South’s perception of the International Order?
Since 2006 there has been an increase in focus from Russia towards Africa, which has been driven by the policy of ‘national champions’ and the nation’s goal to search for new natural resources and expand markets for these materials. A year later, Russia decided to wipe $20 billion of African debts accumulated throughout the cold war, highlighting Putin’s desire to increase positive relations with between African nations and Russia. This article will begin by focusing on the positive relationship connecting President Putin to Egypt’s President, Abdel Fettah al-Sisi, and how Russia gained a significant contract to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant in 2017.
Russia’s relationship with Egypt can be traced back to the Soviet Union, with the Soviet Union focusing highly on Arab nationalism, ensuring the Middle East and Egypt would seek Eastern relations rather than Western. Communist opportunism became an increasing concern for Western nations due to political and military support provided by the Soviet Union in North Africa, which included arms deals between the Soviets and Egyptians move away from former colonial powers. Therefore, the USSR used its power to provide military and economic insurance to smaller nations, promising removal of previous negative Western power.
Similarly, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has also aided weaker nations through direct and indirect economic and military aid. Since Putin’s presidency began in 2000, the nation’s nuclear exports have been a vital force to increase its energy geopolitical portfolio. The introduction of the state funded company ‘Rosatom’ has provided an international foundation for Russia to cooperate with governments around the world, supplying key infrastructure to modernize states, benefitting their general population. ‘Rosatom’ currently possesses 70 percent of the global market for nuclear power exports, holding 73 different projects in 29 nations.
Egypt has many gas deposits and oil fields but has recently struggled with its pricing policy which has led to a collapse in the energy sector. Therefore, external investment from Russia to provide the first nuclear power plant has revived this sector, and promised the Egyptian population a national economic boom for energy. The agreement signed between the two nations details the project will cost a total of US$30 billion, whilst Russia loans Egypt US$25 billion as a loan to be repaid over 35 years.
The passage of the initial deal struggled as many locals stormed the construction site. Once the authorities had passed a law to keep the local population happy, the development of this Russian nuclear site could begin. Egyptian President al-Sisi stressed the significance of the event, which maintained close bilateral ties, and the importance of Egypt becoming the only country in the region to have a generation 3+ plant. Putin’s export of nuclear technology has enabled Russia to install infrastructure in regions that are highly contested by the East and West, providing the nation hope to gain from agreements elsewhere in Africa.
Fast-forward to August 2023, the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory authority have passed all 4 units to be built. This means the powerplant is still on track to be completed and connected to the electric grid by 2030. There is still much uncertainty around which party will have access to energy following the completion of the plant. Once the ‘Rosatom’ imbursements end in 2028, Egypt might have to recuperate the remaining US$5 billion through initial production of energy. Therefore, Cairo still focuses on maintaining a positive relationship with Moscow, which has been clear through their stance on Russia’s invasion in Ukraine during February 2022. Egypt has remained neutral, displaying no condemnation on Putin’s war, rejecting the idea of imposing sanctions on their close allies. Thus, stressing to other African and Middle Eastern nations to carefully consider a move to adopting Russian nuclear power exports.
References
Steele, W. 1963. EGYPT’S RELATIONS WITH THE SOVIET UNION: AN. Naval War College Review, 16(1), 16–45.
Sidiropoulos, E., & Alden, C. 2019. Russia in Africa — post-Soviet re-engagement. In Inside the Russia-Africa matryoshka: Summitry, Geopolitics and Resources. South African Institute of International Affairs, pp. 7-27.
Szulecki, K., & Overland, I. 2023. Russian nuclear energy diplomacy and its implications for energy security in the context of the war in Ukraine, Nature Energy, pp. 413-421.
https://sites.tufts.edu/fletcherrussia/why-egypts-new-nuclear-plant-is-a-long-term-win-for-russia/
https://www.newarab.com/news/dabaa-welcomes-egypt-russia-nuclear-plant-deal-despite-land-disputes
