Russia has agreed to supply enriched uranium to South Africa's nuclear power plant until at least 2017, in a new deal signed in Moscow Thursday.
The deal was signed by President Dmitri Medvedev and South African President Jacob Zuma at a meeting at the Kremlin. It extends an agreement on uranium trade between the two countries.
Russia's atomic agency chief Sergey Kiriyenko told reporters the new deal will give Russia some 45 percent of South Africa's uranium market.
Kiriyenko also said Russia was ready to help South Africa build additional nuclear power stations.
Russia and South Africa had said the meeting was part of a joint effort to increase trade relations between their countries.
Russia has shown interest in bolstering ties with African nations due partly to their abundance of natural resources such as gas and minerals.
One year ago, Mr. Medvedev spent a week in Africa where he witnessed the signing of several multi-million dollar energy deals, and reviewed prospects for additional partnerships.
Both Russia and South Africa are members of the G20, a consortium of countries that account for 90 percent of global economic output and 80 percent of world trade.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.