BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 14. French Framatome (nuclear power plants constructor) and Assystem (independent engineering group, supporting nuclear energy production in France) are eager to cooperate with Uzbekistan in the field of nuclear energy, Trend reports citing Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy.
The matter was discussed between Uzbekistan’s Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Uzbekistan, Aurelia Bouchez, as a representative of the companies.
During the meeting, the main topic of the discussions was the production of uranium in Uzbekistan.
Intensification of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy implies increasing the supply of uranium from Uzbekistan to France. In September 2019, Orano (a French nuclear fuel cycle-producing company) signed an agreement with Uzbekistan for cooperation in the development of uranium mining and exploration.
World Nuclear Association (WNA) says that Uzbekistan produces uranium only for exports. According to the latest data from WNA, Uzbekistan by producing 3,500 tons of uranium in 2021 entered the list of top 5 world countries in uranium mining.
At the same time, Uzbekistan’s government itself pays much attention to skyrocketing uranium production indicators. In January 2023, during one of the meetings, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered to increase uranium output.
Since then, Uzbekistan is working on a special strategy to increase uranium production by 2 times - up to 7,100 tons per year.
Speaking about cooperation between the countries, Uzbekistan and France have already established a solid partnership in the field of energy.
An example can serve: a French company with EDF supported Uzbekistan in the construction of the following hydroelectric power plants (HPP): Syrdarya HPP, Kambarata, and Chatkal HPP.
Back in May 2022, French Total Eren, an independent energy producer, put into operation the solar power plant with a total capacity of 100 MW in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan.
At the same time, another French electric services company, Voltalia, won a tender for the construction of a solar power plant in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan.
