On October 1, Rosatom, together with the
Embassy of the Russian Federation in South Africa, held Nuclear Day in
Johannesburg.
The event brought together
representatives of South Africa’s nuclear industry and academic community.
Opening remarks were delivered by Roman Ambarov, Ambassador of the Russian
Federation to South Africa and concurrently accredited to the Kingdom of Lesotho,
and Ryan Collyer, CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa. Elsie Pule,
Coordinator of the BRICS Nuclear Energy Platform, and Sengiphile Simelane,
Executive Director for Energy and Industry at the South African Nuclear Energy
Corporation (Necsa), also took part in the opening session.
The highlight of the programme was the South African premiere of “Nuclear Now”, a documentary by director Oliver Stone. The programme also included a seminar on industry and education, supported by the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University) and Rosatom’s partner universities. During the seminar, representatives of the National University of Science and Technology MISIS (NUST MISIS), the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (IATE MEPhI), Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R. E. Alekseev, and RUDN University presented Russian approaches to training the nuclear workforce and outlined opportunities for partnerships in industry and education. They also gave lectures on environmental issues, radiation safety, and the use of artificial intelligence in nuclear projects.
“South Africa rightly holds a special place in Africa’s nuclear landscape. It has a strong engineering tradition, an established community of industry professionals and a strong safety culture in the use of nuclear technologies. Nuclear Day in Johannesburg provided a platform for meaningful dialogue between those who are already developing the industry and those who will shape its future. Such dialogue brings together experience, knowledge and new ideas to support energy development in South Africa and across the African continent,” said Ryan Collyer, CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa.
“Today the interest in nuclear power is on the rise again. New nuclear projects are being developed or planned all across the world in countries including China, India, Türkiye, Egypt. In many countries of the Global South these power plants are developed on the basis of the Russian technologies. For example, Rosatom is building Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Türkiye, El Dabaa in Egypt and Paks II in Hungary, while also expanding Kudankulam in India,” Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of South Africa and concurrently to the Kingdom of Lesotho Roman Ambarov noted.
Rosatom’s regional office has been
operating in Africa since 2012 and is based in Cape Town. The office works
closely with South Africa to strengthen the long-term partnership. Between 2014
and 2026, Rosatom allocated 145 study places for South African citizens.
Currently, 33 South African students are studying at Russian universities in
nuclear and related disciplines relevant to the industry. Of these, 11 are
studying in fields identified jointly with South African electricity utility
Eskom.
More than 360 students from 23 African
countries are currently studying nuclear and related disciplines at Russian
universities. Each year, around 100 study places in programmes relevant to the
nuclear industry are allocated to citizens of African countries.
Russia continues to develop cooperation with all interested countries. Rosatom and its divisions remain actively involved in the implementation of major international projects.
