Turkish top diplomat to attend nuclear energy summit

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend a nuclear energy summit organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Brussels on March 21, where world leaders will discuss the role of the nuclear energy in addressing challenges to reduce the use of fossil fuels, enhance energy security and boost economic development.

Fidan will inform the summit about Türkiye’s efforts to develop conventional nuclear plants and advanced modular nuclear reactors, according to diplomatic sources.

Co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo and the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Summit will be the highest-level meeting to date exclusively focused on the topic of nuclear energy.

The participants will discuss the role of nuclear energy in four separate panels and Foreign Minister Fidan will address in a session where the heads of states and governments will be present.

According to sources, the summit gives the opportunity for Türkiye to share its perspective on energy security and policy contributions to this end. Fidan will also inform the summit about Türkiye’s efforts to develop nuclear energy through conventional nuclear plants and small modular reactors as fundamental pillars of its energy security, sources said.

The minister will also share information about Türkiye’s first nuclear plant being built in Akkuyu province of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast.

 Summit to focus on energy security

The summit will gather the leaders of the countries that already have a nuclear energy capacity and those who are developing this. The organizers inform 18 countries will be presented at the level of heads of states or governments while 17 nations will dispatch ministers or senior officials.

The summit is taking place at a time when the efforts for the transition to clean energy in the wake of the Russian occupation of Ukraine have gained impetus and the role of nuclear energy has been reinforced.

A joint declaration will be announced following the summit.