Africa Briefs

Russia to help Uganda develop nuclear energyRussia and Uganda have agreed to work together in the field of nuclear energy, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said Wednesday, as Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence in Africa.Russia's state-owned companies have been at a key part of the strategy to bolster Moscow's presence on the continent. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni's is seeking to use his country's uranium deposits to develop nuclear power.The agreement was signed on Tuesday by a Rosatom representative and Ugandan energy minister Irene Muloni on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference in Vienna.The deal "lays the foundation for specific cooperation between Russia and Uganda" in the field of nuclear energy, Rosatom said.It also paves the way for working together in "the creation of nuclear energy infrastructure, the production of radioisotopes for industry, medicine, agriculture, as well as the training of personnel." – Nampa/AFPNiger, China launch oil pipeline projectNiger and China are to build a 2 000-kilometre pipeline to carry crude oil from southeast Niger to the port of Seme in Benin, the Niger president's office announced Wednesday.President Mahamadou Issoufou launched the project on Tuesday at the Agadem oil field in the southeast of the country, where the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has been extracting oil since 2011.It is expected to take 42 months to complete at a cost of US$4.5 billion.Until now, Niamey has moved crude out via Chad to a port in Cameroon, but deadly jihadist attacks in Nigeria have spilled over the border making the region unstable.Niger's oil minister Foumakoye Gado signed the deal on Sunday with Wang Zhong Cai, president of the China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation, a CNPC subsidiary. – Nampa/AFPGhana, Ivory Coast want cocoa ceilingGhana and Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producers, are looking at introducing a cocoa production ceiling to support global prices and discourage overproduction, the countries' industry regulators said on Wednesday.The move comes after the two countries, who together produce two-thirds of the world's cocoa, imposed a fixed "living income differential (LID)" or premium of US$400 a tonne in July on all cocoa sales for the 2020/21 season.Many cocoa buyers say the LID, which represents a major overhaul of how cocoa is priced globally, could lead to excess production."We've put in [place a] mechanism which sets production ceilings," Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) told industry representatives at the European Cocoa Forum in Lisbon.He declined to say at what level the production ceiling would be set, saying that parliament had to approve it first. – Nampa/ReutersEthiopia rejects Egypt's plan for NileEthiopia on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Egypt to operate a US$4 billion hydropower dam the Horn of Africa country is constructing on the Nile, further deepening a dispute between the two nations over the project.In a press conference in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, Sileshi Bekele, minister for water, irrigation and energy described Egypt's plan including the volume of water it wants the dam to release annually as "inappropriate."The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), announced in 2011, is designed to be the centrepiece of Ethiopia's bid to become Africa's biggest power exporter, generating more than 6 000 megawatts.The two nations disagree over the annual flow of water that should be guaranteed to Egypt and how to manage flows during droughts.Egypt relies on the Nile for 90% of its fresh water and it wants the GERD's reservoir to release a higher volume of water than Ethiopia is willing to guarantee, among other disagreements. – Nampa/ReutersSomalia GDP to grow 2.9%Somalia's economy is forecast to grow 2.9% this year from 2.8% last year, but security risks and vulnerability to climate shocks could cloud the outlook, the International Monetary Fund said.The Horn of Africa country has experienced conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew president Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Over the past decade it has been hit by famine and sporadic terror attacks by al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab."Economic growth is projected to remain broadly stable at 2.9% in 2019. Inflation is projected to increase temporarily to 4.0% in 2019, due to higher food prices as a result of poor rainfall earlier in the year," the IMF said.In May, the fund had put Somalia's economic growth forecast at 3%, and inflation projections at 3 to 3.2%.The International Monetary Fund has been pushing for better management of public finances, while the government is implementing reforms under an agreed staff-monitored programme. – Nampa/Reuters

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