Kazakhstan working to produce nuclear energy, says official

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, which ranks first globally in crude uranium production, is taking steps to produce nuclear energy, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Jaslan Kasenov, the head of the Nuclear Energy and Industry Department of the country's Energy Ministry, told journalists in Nur-Sultan that Kazakhstan is currently conducting research in this field, considering the natural and climatic conditions.

Noting that his country is actively working to examine the technologies of six global companies that supply reactors, Kasenov said the examinations are carried out in line with safety, reactor reference, capacity, and cost criteria of nuclear plants.

He said the country is the world's largest producer of crude uranium and that it possesses all necessary resources to produce nuclear energy.

"We have access to uranium isotope enrichment services as well as our own nuclear fuel production," he said, adding that the world and the region are experiencing an electricity crisis, while 31 countries currently operate nuclear power plants.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas in Ankara