Russia has doubled its annual scholarship allocation for Ghanaian students from 120 to 240.

The fully funded scholarships will give priority to students pursuing courses in artificial intelligence (AI), engineering, petroleum sciences and pharmaceuticals.

The development is part of fresh outcomes following a three-day official visit to Moscow, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

According to Mr Ablakwa, Ghana and Russia have also agreed to deepen cooperation in Ghana’s peaceful nuclear energy programme and green transition objectives.

He said the two countries would work towards Ghana’s plan to add 700 megawatts of nuclear power to its energy mix as part of efforts to diversify the country’s energy sources.

“Following my ongoing official visit to Russia, Russian scholarships for Ghanaian students have now been doubled from 120 each academic year to 240,” Mr Ablakwa said in a post on social media.

He said Ghana and Russia would also work together on international issues, including counterterrorism, climate change and reform of the United Nations.

The new allocation builds on the 120 government scholarship slots Russia had set aside for Ghanaian students for the 2026/27 academic year, according to the Russian Embassy in Ghana.

The scholarship quota had earlier been increased from 75 to 110 in 2022.

The new arrangement is expected to provide more Ghanaian students with opportunities to pursue higher education in Russia, particularly in fields identified under the new allocation.

Ghana’s nuclear energy cooperation with Russia also builds on an agreement signed by the two countries in 2015 on the peaceful use of atomic energy.

Russia’s state nuclear company, Rosatom, has since been shortlisted among five companies competing for Ghana’s first nuclear power plant project.

The other shortlisted companies are from France, the United States, China and South Korea.

A more recent memorandum of understanding between the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and Rosatom has also strengthened cooperation between the two sides.

The two countries have separately discussed floating nuclear power units as a possible option for integrating nuclear power into Ghana’s national grid.

The latest announcements form part of renewed diplomatic engagement between Ghana and Russia.