Malawi seeks joint exploration of uranium with India

Lilongwe: In a bid to attain energy security mineral-rich, landlocked, south-east African nation, Malawi, has asked India to jointly explore its uranium reserves. The offer was made even as both countries signed three key agreements in fields of agriculture and small and medium enterprises in the course of Indian vice president Hamid Ansari's visit to the country.

India and Malawi also signed a protocol on foreign office consultations.

The agreements aim to provide a boost for the setting up of new industries in Malawi, marketing of agri-products, animal husbandry and micro processing.

According to Malawian vice president Joyce Banda, there were four specific areas in which Malawi was seeking India's cooperation in the field of energy - coal, water and wind energy besides uranium.

Banda said her country had huge deposits of the mineral.

"We have discovered Malawi has huge deposits of uranium. We can work with Indian government to explore other sites of uranium deposits," Banda said in reply to a query on the nature of assistance it wanted from India in exploring the mineral deposits.