Kenya, which is pursuing the construction of nuclear power plants, has held the "Korea-Kenya Nuclear Energy Cooperation Workshop" with South Korean affiliated organizations to discuss ways to cooperate.

According to the South Korean Embassy in Kenya on the 21st (local time), the workshop held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from the 17th to the 18th was attended by around 50 officials from both countries, including Kang Hyung-shik, South Korean Ambassador to Kenya; Lim In-chul, Acting President of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI); Richard Mabisi, Acting Principal Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum; Jane Makori, Director for Asia at Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Winfred Ndubai, Director at the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) of Kenya; and John Opal, Director at the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA).

The embassy stated that the workshop focused on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), research reactors, various applications of nuclear technology, infrastructure establishment for nuclear introduction, and human resource development, with both nations sharing their policies and technological development statuses while discussing cooperation measures.

Currently, South Africa is the only nation on the African continent operating commercial nuclear power plants.

Egypt is constructing a nuclear power plant consisting of four reactors in the Mediterranean coastal city of El Dabaa with the goal of initial operation in 2028, while countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda are pursuing the introduction of nuclear power.

In particular, Kenya aims to operate a research reactor in the early 2030s and construct a 1,000 MW commercial nuclear power plant around 2034.

To this end, more than 50 nuclear experts from Kenya have been trained since 2010 at institutions such as KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (KINGS). Furthermore, in September of last year, NuPEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for technical cooperation with KAERI to lay the groundwork for R&D cooperation, including research reactor projects.

Earlier in June, during a written interview with Yonhap News prior to visiting South Korea to attend the "Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting" held in Seoul, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi expressed expectations for cooperation, stating, "We look forward to cooperating with South Korea in developing our nuclear energy program."

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