On Thursday (28 May), the second day of Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Kazakhstan, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to construct the first nuclear power plant in the Central Asian republic since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev thanked Putin for endorsing the plans. Russia is expected to finance 85% of the plant, which is expected to be commissioned around 2035-2036.
Kazakhstan is a top uranium producer, but has not produced nuclear energy of its own since decommissioning its Soviet-era reactors three decades ago.
A consortium led by Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom won the project, as it bid against China National Nuclear Corporation, France’s EDF and South Korea’s Hydro & Nuclear Power.
Tokayev and Putin also formalised a joint statement on the “seven pillars of friendship and good-neighbourliness”.
Putin noted that the two leaders addressed “many important and promising areas of our cooperation” on Wednesday evening.
Tokayev estimated that Russia and Kazakhstan are working on 177 joint projects valued at almost $53 billion. According to the Kazakh leader, 122 of those commercial ventures are already fully functioning.
On Friday (29 May), the final day of Putin’s state visit, Astana will host a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
Source: commonspace.eu with The Moscow Times
