Turkey’s foreign, defence and energy ministers visited Niger on Wednesday to secure access to the West African nation’s rich uranium deposits, reports said

The delegation, led by foreign minister Hakan Fidan, wants to secure Nigerien supplies of the mineral to fuel Turkey’s nuclear-power industry, the reports said, quoting unnamed sources.

The trip comes after Niger’s military government withdrew mining rights from Canadian and French companies to develop uranium deposits.

The country has been controlled by a junta since a coup in July 2023, and its elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been in detention since then.