After receiving a warm welcome in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, last week for a state visit and a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union. While the EAEU meeting was full of tensions, notably because of the growing gap between Armenia and Russia, curious about Europe.Putin’s engagements with his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, have been marked by good nature.
The two presidents I planted an oak tree in the “Alley of Eternal Friendship between Kazakhstan and Russia”, which opened in Astana last yearand oversaw the signing of a a dozen chordsthe most important of which concerned Russia’s construction of Kazakhstan’s first modern nuclear power plant.
These included an agreement on “the basic principles and conditions of cooperation on the project of construction of a nuclear power plant on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, another on “provision of a state export loan” from Russia to Kazakhstan to finance the project, and an action plan for “interdepartmental cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety regulation for 2026-2030”. There was also a currency swap agreement, presumably linked to the export loan.
Last summer, Russian Rosatom has been selected take the lead in the construction of Kazakhstan’s first modern nuclear power plant. The exact specifications have evolved since the initial announcements, settling on a pair of VVER-1200 III+ reactors with a combined capacity of 2.4 GWe.
Last August, Kazakh officials marked the construction launch ceremony (in reality, the launch of engineering study work) in Ulken. At that time, Almasadam Satkaliyev, head of Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters: “The total investment in the project will amount to about $14-15 billion… Another $1 billion will be allocated for the construction of modern social amenities and infrastructure.” »
Last week, Satkaliyev cited a slightly higher figure: $16.4 billionincluding about $2 billion for security and infrastructure, according to the state’s official news agency. Kazinform. Although the exact details of Russia’s export loan to Kazakhstan have not been revealed, it has been reported that Moscow will provide up to 85 percent of the project’s financing.
Given Russia’s current geopolitical and financial tensions, due to its ongoing large-scale invasion of Ukraine, this situation has attracted considerable interest. Putin felt the need to explain.
“…We are not just spending or giving this money, we are lending it. This is money that will be returned to the Russian treasury. We are lending it with interest, as is usual in all these cases,” he said.
Putin argued that the project was beneficial to Russia given Moscow’s long-standing cooperation with Astana in the field of uranium. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest producer of uranium.
The authorities set 2027 as the actual start of construction and are targeting the start of 2034 for the commissioning of the first reactor.
In their joint statement At the end of Putin’s state visit, Kazakhstan and Russia laid the foundations of their relationship, starting with history, emphasizing “the importance of a responsible attitude towards historical memory.” Other foundations include “joint efforts to develop Eurasian integration, “a common border” and “economic partnership”.
The two states are “equal partners, strategic allies and good neighbors”.