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Russia to Inaugurate Nuclear Sciences University in Egypt

The National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. (The official website of the university)
The National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. (The official website of the university)
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Russia to Inaugurate Nuclear Sciences University in Egypt

The National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. (The official website of the university)
The National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. (The official website of the university)

A Russian official has unveiled his country’s plan to inaugurate a branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Egypt, as part of the construction of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant in El-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast.

Russian Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Konstantin Mogilevsky said on Monday that there is an initial decision to inaugurate a branch for the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Egypt, TASS reported.

The Russian official didn’t determine the inauguration date.

This would enable the training of the employees to work at the nuclear power station, he added.

Mogilevsky said there are plans to open representative offices for Russian universities in some African states and to implement joint education programs. Yet, he didn’t reveal the name of the countries.

The Russian Embassy in Cairo confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat Mogilevsky’s claims, but it didn’t provide further details.

El-Dabaa NPP will be constructed in the city of El-Dabaa, some 300 km northwest of Cairo.

The plant will comprise four units with generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurized water reactors.

The NPP is being constructed by Rosatom in accordance with contracts that entered into force in December 2017 based on an inter-governmental agreement signed by Egypt and Russia in 2015.

The cost of the project is $30 billion, 85 percent of which is financed through a $25 billion Russian loan.

The first reactor is expected to begin operations in 2024, according to the Egyptian presidency.

Rosatom laid in July the concrete foundations for the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. Its construction was scheduled to start in 2020 but was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Egypt seeks to “diversify” power generating sources so that the electricity produced from nuclear stations reaches nine percent of the overall energy mix, official data showed.

Egypt and Russia cooperate in the training of researchers and students on peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Egyptian Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Ayman Ashour held talks in September with the head of the international cooperation department of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia Dmitry Kamanin.

The talks focused on means to activate a cooperation agreement signed with Moscow on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.