Japan will send a large delegation to Kazakhstan from April 29-30 to secure uranium and other energy supplies, a government official said Tuesday. The delegation would contain some 100 government officials and corporate executives led by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy official.
It would include top representatives from about 30 power utilities, trading houses and manufacturing companies and seek to negotiate deals in the energy sector, including Japanese investment in Kazakh uranium mines, he said.
"The mission will not only aim to secure uranium and other fuels but also seek wide-ranging cooperation, including Japan's assistance to Kazakhstan's acquisition of nuclear reactors," the official said.
In August last year, then Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi toured Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where he offered aid and discussed cooperation in the energy sector. In Kazakhstan, Koizumi met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who said that the emerging market of Kazakhstan and energy-hungry, industrialised Japan "have complementary economies." Koizumi was the first Japanese prime minister to visit Central Asia.