ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 23. President of
Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer of Electricité de France (EDF) Bernard
Fontana discussed prospects for strengthening cooperation, Trend reports via the
presidential press service.
Tokayev noted the broad potential for joint work and stressed
that Kazakhstan attaches particular importance to deepening
cooperation with the French company.
For his part, Fontana expressed interest in further expanding
cooperation in the fields of sustainable energy and modern energy
infrastructure.
The President reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s readiness for open and
mutually beneficial cooperation with international partners,
including EDF, based on the principles of transparency and
parity.
The sides also discussed cooperation in uranium supply.
Électricité de France is the largest state-owned electricity
company in France and one of the world’s leading operators of
nuclear power plants.
Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant, the Balkhash Nuclear
Power Plant, is planned to be built near the village of Ulken in
the Almaty region in cooperation with Russia’s Rosatom. A
nationwide referendum held in October 2024 resulted in 71.12% of
voters backing the construction of nuclear power facilities. In
November 2025, the name of the country’s first nuclear plant was
officially approved following a national vote.
Kazakhstan is also considering the construction of a second
nuclear power plant, which may be located near Lake Balkhash.
