Baku TurkicWorld

Türkiye is well on its way to becoming part of the club of nations using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes amid its efforts to diversify energy resources, according to an expert, TurkicWorld reports with the reference to Daily Sabah.

Adnan Shihab-Eldin, former acting secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), spoke to Daily Sabah in Istanbul Friday as part of the Future Leaders Executive Program (FLEP). The event was organized by the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), the umbrella youth group of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Member states organize events to promote international cooperation between the youth and with the participation of governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide with a vision of economic and cultural development.

Türkiye is making significant strides toward achieving a diverse energy mix, Shihab-Eldin said and pointed out that this is the most efficient and logical way to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Shihab-Eldin emphasized the importance of exploring and deploying all possible decarbonization technologies to achieve low carbon or net zero emission targets by 2050.

He commended Türkiye's efforts to pursue a diverse energy mix that includes nuclear power, renewables and natural gas with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). He highlighted the recent milestone of Türkiye receiving the first nuclear fuel shipment for its first nuclear reactor, marking the country's progress in becoming part of the nuclear club of nations for peaceful purposes.

“Türkiye has thought about nuclear for a long time but the fact that it continued to explore it, and when the opportunity came, they went ahead decisively with the plans, cooperating with Russia and benefiting from what Russia is offering,” he said.

“We saw the celebration on the occasion of the arrival of the first nuclear fuel shipment for the first reactor when it arrived. That means Türkiye is well underway to become part of the nuclear club of nations for peaceful purposes. And in that, Türkiye is helping itself not rely on only one source or one resource.”

With a ceremony last week attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin online, Türkiye’s first nuclear plant and a joint Russia-Türkiye project, Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), received the initial batch of nuclear fuel.

"Türkiye has risen to the league of countries with nuclear power in the world, albeit after a 60-year delay," the president said at the ceremony.

Erdoğan said the EU eliminates roadblocks by accepting nuclear energy as green energy, adding: "We made our country part of this development with Akkuyu."

Akkuyu NPP is Türkiye's "biggest joint investment" with Russia, Erdoğan said.

The plant will be fully operational by 2028 and supply 10% of Türkiye’s electricity consumption.