Russia signs deal to build Egypt's first nuclear plant

Russia signed two agreements today to finance and build Egypt's first nuclear power plant, in a televised ceremony attended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The signing comes three weeks after what is widely believed to have been an Islamic State group bomb downed a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 on board, and "carries a message on the weight or relations between us and Russia", Sisi said.
"For a long time, Egypt has dreamt of having a peaceful nuclear programme for the production of electricity," Sisi said of the project.

Under the second deal, Sisi said Russia will grant a 35-year loan to the North African country, the Arab world's most populous. He did not say how much the loan will amount to or what its terms are.

Sergei Kirienko, director general of Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom, said the agreement is for the construction and operation of four 1,200 MW reactors, making the country "a regional leader in terms of technology."