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Rosatom's Subsidiary Finishing Uranium Processing Plant in Tanzania: Russian Envoy

© Sputnik / Go to the mediabankThe stand of the state corporation "Rosatom" at the exhibition of the Eurasian Economic Forum in the Park of Science and Art "Sirius".
The stand of the state corporation Rosatom at the exhibition of the Eurasian Economic Forum in the Park of Science and Art Sirius. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 26.07.2023
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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Sputnik) - A subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is finishing the construction of a uranium processing plant in Tanzania and will move to a serious industrial volume of its extraction and processing in the coming years, Russian Ambassador to Tanzania Andrey Avetisyan told Sputnik.
"Rosatom's subsidiary Mantra is running a uranium mining project in Tanzania. As far as I know, they are currently finishing the construction of a uranium processing plant, and in the coming months, I think, we will hear that this small pilot project has been launched," Avetisyan said.
"In the coming years, if it develops successfully, the company will move to a serious industrial volume of uranium mining and processing," he added.
Rosatom told Sputnik ahead of the second Russia-Africa Summit, due July 27-28 in St. Petersburg, that the corporation plans to launch uranium ore mining and processing in Tanzania in 2023-2025.
In this Friday, Aug. 7, 2020 file photo, personnel work to begin loading nuclear fuel at Belarus' first nuclear plant which was built by Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, near Astravets, Belarus.  - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 23.07.2023
Technological Sovereignty: Russia's Rosatom Proposes Plans for Civil Nuclear Power in Africa
The Russian ambassador also touched upon other spheres of cooperation between Russia and Tanzania. In particular, he stated that Russian charter airline Azur Air has received permission to launch flights to Tanzania, adding that the flights will start in the fall.

"Azur Air has already received permission from the Russian and Tanzanian civil aviation authorities to organize charter flights […]. I expect that charter flights between Russia and Tanzania will start sometime in the fall when the load on popular summer tourist destinations drops and then Zanzibar becomes more popular," Avetisyan said.

He noted that the main reason for the low tourist flow was the lack of direct flights between the countries. The ambassador also added that after the closure of airspace due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the flow of Russian tourists fell to almost zero.
"Now, after the end of the pandemic, tourism is starting to revive, but very slowly," the diplomat said.
In addition, the parties may begin to discuss the possibility of waiving visas on a reciprocal basis, but "as of today, Moscow is not conducting such negotiations."
Earlier this year, the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsiya) announced plans to launch direct flights to several countries of Southeast Asia and Africa, including Myanmar, South Korea, Tunisia, Algeria, and South Africa.
According to Vsevolod Tkachenko, director of the Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia is going to resume direct air links with many African countries, and related government bodies are already working on this issue.
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