(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 21. Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan Akram Aliev discussed potential avenues for expanding cooperation in the mining sector with representatives of France's Orano Group and Japan's Itochu Corporation, Trend reports.

According to the ministry, the parties sang the praises of the positive results from ongoing projects and drove home their significance for the industry's long-term growth.

The parties reaffirmed their commitment to active engagement and to jointly advancing new projects aimed at expanding the country's mineral resource base and boosting the tech prowess of the industry.

Meanwhile, Orano has been operating in Uzbekistan through the Nurlikum Mining joint venture, established in 2019 with Navoiyuran, to develop the Djengeldi uranium deposit using modern ISR technology. Under a March 2025 agreement signed in Paris, the project has entered a new phase at the South Djengeldi site in the Tomdi district, with the venture's structure updated to give Orano and Navoiyuran equal 45-percent stakes and Japan's Itochu a 10-percent share as a project partner.

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