"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.
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.