Russia Powering Ghana’s Sustainable Energy -By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Russia’s State Duma, the lower chamber of parliamentarians, indicated preparedness to become the key driver for developing infrastructure and determining finance mechanism to boost energy exploration and production in the Republic of Ghana. The comprehensive discussions highlighted the huge potential for collaboration in other economic areas besides energy.

Russia, treading strategically to power Ghana’s energy, at long last, has reached an agreement over the construction of nuclear plants, the latest development after several years of bilateral discussions and negotiations since Soviet’s collapse.

History shows that Ghana started its nuclear energy in the 1960s with the Soviet Union. This could not materialized due to a coup d’etat in 1966. Currently, Ghana has identified two sites to accommodate its first nuclear power plant and is ready to identify a vendor by the end of 2024. The energy programme is currently in Phase 2 of 3 of the nuclear journey in accordance to the IAEA milestone. The IAEA continues to support the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme.

With the delegation of Ghanaian parliamentarians headed by Chairman of the Energy Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, held a comprehensive dialogue aimed at revitalizing the energy sector on May 21, 2025 and together participated by the Chairman of the Committee on Energy, Nikolay Shulginov, at the State Duma. The State Duma is the Russia’s lower chamber of parliamentarians.

The strategic areas of cooperation between Russia and African countries were described in the decisions of the Russia-Africa summits held in Sochi in 2019 and in St. Petersburg in 2023, and the energy cooperation was noted as an essential condition for the economic development of African countries. The State Duma also twice – in 2019 and in 2023 – welcomed parliamentarians from the African continent at the events of the International Parliamentary Conference.

Meeting participants thoroughly discussed such issues as energy supply, prospects for the development of nuclear energy in Ghana, the creation of a scientific nuclear technologies center, and the development of hydrocarbon and mineral resources in the country. Both parties further noted that multifaceted cooperation at the intergovernmental level is also developing.

The Intergovernmental Commission meeting which was held on December 15, 2023, among other things, examined a number of provisions reflecting keen interest in developing and strengthening energy cooperation, and it can be used as a basis for the cooperation at the level of relevant parliamentary committees. The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministries of Energy of Russia and Ghana, which was prepared several years ago, identified the challenges and opportunities in fixing energy infrastructure, and recommended a roadmap for collaborative strategies for bringing together government officials and private sector representatives to implement the construction of nuclear plants.

Perhaps, Russia was certainly looking to leverage its partnership in other economic spheres. The Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Industry and Trade, Gennady Sklyar, emphasized that Russian nuclear scientists could offer both high-power energy reactors and low-power floating nuclear power plants. This decision can be implemented in a shorter time.

First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy, Pavel Zavalny, cautiously drew the attention of his colleagues from Ghana to Russia’s high competence in the field of hydro, wind and solar energy, which could help meet the country’s growing demand for electricity, and noted the importance of training energy specialists, and Russia’s readiness to help with that.

Representatives of the Parliament of Ghana highly appreciated the significance of inter-parliamentary relations in the current global tension situation. The meeting participants agreed to continue enhancing such interactive contacts and, on the development and support of a comprehensive partnership between the Republic of Ghana and the State Duma of the Russian Federation.