Egypt and Russia have signed a supplementary protocol to their 2015 nuclear cooperation agreement, a move that is set to fast-track the construction and operation of Egypt’s first nuclear commercial nuclear power station at El Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast.

The protocol was signed on 8 July by Egypt’s minister of electricity and renewable energy, Mahmoud Esmat, and Alexey Likhachev, director-general of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

“The agreement marks a significant step in the country’s pursuit of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as part of its commitment to both national development and global climate goals,” said the Egyptian government.