Present at the head of the Algerian delegation to the International Nuclear Energy Forum held in Sochi between May 14th and 16th, the Algerian Minister of Energy Mustapha Guitouni met Alexey Likhachev the CEO of the Russian public nuclear group Rosatom. The two officials discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy , according to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Energy.
Algeria is preparing a plan for the use of nuclear energy for civil purposes by considering the construction of nuclear power plants by 2030-2050. To achieve this goal, a law to regulate activities related to nuclear energy in Algeria is being developed by the Ministry of Energy. The program for the development of nuclear energy is essentially aimed at meeting Algeria’s energy needs, in addition to its technical uses in the fields of health, agriculture and water resources.
In order to make this program a reality, Algeria has signed several bilateral cooperation agreements with several countries, including Russia, in addition to multilateral cooperation within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ). The nuclear agreement between Algeria and Russia was signed in 2014. The Russian agency Rosatom announced, for this purpose, that Algeria was planning the construction of a nuclear power plant with a pressurized water reactor by 2025.
In September 2017, the 8th session of the Russian-Algerian Economic, Commercial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Commission was held in Algiers. During the meeting, Algerian Finance Minister Abderrahmane Raouya, speaking to the Russian side led by Energy Minister Alexandre Novak, explained that the momentum in the partnership between the two countries, particularly in the hydrocarbon and civil nuclear sectors, should be extended to other areas.
For his part, Alexandre Novak affirmed that Algeria is taking a “leader” position among Russia’s partners in Africa and around the world, saying that trade between the two countries had doubled in 2016 compared to 2015 , while they were up 30% in 2017 compared to the previous year.
