HARARE, October 11. /TASS/. Burkina Faso plans to sign an intergovernmental agreement with Russia on the construction of a nuclear power plant by the end of this year, the Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries of Burkina Faso, Yacouba Zabre Gouba, announced.

"We have summed up the preliminary results of cooperation with Rosatom and found them generally satisfactory," the minister said as quoted by the Burkina24 portal following his talks with specialists of the Russian nuclear corporation.

"By the end of October, our students will be sent to leading Russian universities to receive specialized education in the field of nuclear energy. We plan to begin discussions in thematic groups on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso by Rosatom specialists in the near future. By the end of 2024, we hope to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the actual start of negotiations on the technical aspects of the construction of a nuclear power plant," he added.

Earlier this year, Burkina Faso signed memorandums with Rosatom on the training of nuclear energy specialists in Russia for Burkina Faso, on cooperation in assessing and developing nuclear infrastructure, and on the formation of a positive public opinion regarding nuclear energy.

Cooperation between Rosatom and Burkina Faso began in October 2023 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy at the 6th Russian Energy Week Forum.

In March 2024, a roadmap for cooperation development was signed between the countries at Atomexpo 2024.

Following the formation of the international legal framework for cooperation, the parties intend to work out how to implement nuclear power generation projects as well as non-energy use of radiation technologies in agriculture and medicine in Burkina Faso.