U.S. interested in diversifying nuclear fuel suppliers

Kazakhstan, Astana, July 16 / Trend S.Suleymanov /

The United States is interested in diversifying the suppliers of nuclear fuel, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of International Nuclear Energy Policy and Cooperation Edward McGinnis said in Astana answering journalists' questions about the department's position on the purchase of a controlling stake by "Rosatomprom" in Canadian company Uranium One, which conducts extensive work in Kazakhstan that poses the world's largest reserves of easily accessible uranium.

"We will always provide any support for the development of the commercial market proposals. We are ready to cooperate with all the players in this market and all suppliers who are here," McGinnis said.

He noted that the question of who and what has not in its jurisdiction. "I'm in Kazakhstan to strengthen cooperation in civil nuclear energy," he said. "We are interested only in the fact that the market for nuclear fuel has been diversified and reliable, and viable," McGinnis said.

McGinnis and first vice-minister of industry and new technologies Albert Rau signed the agreement on strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States in the field of nuclear energy. The document, called "Specifications" for the sub-working group on the Kazakh-American partnership in the field of nuclear energy is part of a joint action plan agreed in October 2009 by co-chairs of partnerships in the energy sector - Deputy U.S. Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and the Oil and Gas Minister (formerly Energy and Mineral Resources Minister) Sauat Minbayev.

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