Amman  - The Jordanian government on Monday inked a memorandum of understanding with the British-Australian Rio Tinto group for the exploration and mining of uranium and other nuclear ores in the country, according to an official statement.

The document seeks to formulate the general terms for defining the areas were uranium and other nuclear metals can be found in the run- up for the signing of exploration and mining agreements with the conglomerate, the statement said.

It is the latest in a series of agreements that Jordan has entered into with world nuclear powers in its bid to develop a nuclear system for peaceful purposes.

Jordan and other Arab countries came to show increasing interest in the possession of nuclear know-how after Iran went adamantly ahead with its controversial nuclear programme. dpa