(AP) - Kazakhstan aims to dramatically increase uranium exports to Japan in the coming years, providing up to a quarter of the countrys needs, a senior official of the national atomic energy company said Monday.
KazAtomProms annual uranium supplies to Japan may reach 2,000 metric tons, or 2,200 U.S. tons, within a few years, the companys vice president Malkhaz Tsotsoria said. He said that is 25 percent of Japanese demand, reports Trend.
Tsotsoria was speaking to reporters ahead of Japans Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumis expected arrival in the Kazakh capital, Astana, later Monday for talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and a planned signing of a memorandum on boosting uranium cooperation.
The main buyers of Kazakh uranium are China, Japan, the United States and South Korea . The company is planning to start production at 12 new uranium mines in the next few years, which would make it the worlds leading uranium supplier with an annual output of 12,000 metric tons (13,200 short tons) by 2010, Tsotsoria said.
Japans Foreign Ministry said that Koizumi plans to emphasize Japans intention to increase its involvement in the energy-rich Central Asia during his four-day trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Tokyo also wants to boost its influence in the region, where China and Russia are trying to enhance their alliances through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a six-nation group.
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