Kazakhstan willing to boost oil exports to France, sees potential in uranium shipments - Tokayev
ASTANA. Nov 1 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan stands ready to increase oil shipments to France and sees potential for uranium exports to the country, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is currently on an official visit to Astana.
Speaking at a Kazakh-French business forum, Tokayev mentioned a number of promising areas for cooperation between the two countries. "In his view, such priorities include the energy sector. Kazakhstan is one of the principal suppliers of crude oil to the French market, and our country stands ready to increase the export volume," the Kazakh presidential press service said in a statement.
"There is also great potential in oil and gas geological prospecting, uranium exports, and implementing major wind, solar, and hydropower generation projects," Tokayev said.
"Kazakhstan is the world's largest uranium producer, accounting for over a quarter of nuclear fuel consumed in Europe. As the share of nuclear power generation reaches 63% in France's energy sector, there is huge potential for continued cooperation," the statement quoted Tokayev as saying.
The two countries also have common interests in completely eliminating carbon emissions in the future, Tokayev said.
"Just like France, Kazakhstan is a regional pioneer in this field. As concerns renewable energy sources, an increasing number of major international players have been coming to Kazakhstan to pursue major wind, solar, and hydropower projects," he said.
As an example of such projects, Tokayev mentioned $1.3 billion in investment by the French company TotalEnergies in a 1 GW wind farm in Kazakhstan.
He also described the potential of green hydrogen projects as huge.
"In the event of the project's successful implementation, Kazakhstan could become one of the top ten exporters. We look forward to continued cooperation in this vitally important sector, be it production, transfer or technology, or expert reviews," Tokayev said.