Turkey's burgeoning nuclear sector needs Chinese companies' experience to enable a "safe and reliable" development, a Turkish official said on Tuesday.
"Turkey needs close collaboration with Chinese companies to learn more about their experience in diverse fields including human resources, training, education and technology transfer," said Sule Ergun, a nuclear energy expert and head of an international nuclear power plants summit being held in Istanbul.
Nuclear power accounts for 2.5 percent of China's electric supply and the share is expected to rise to six percent by 2020, Turkish experts said at the summit, highlighting Beijing's progress in technology transfer to the rest of the world, including Africa and the Middle East.
Turkey's quest for nuclear power is gaining momentum with the ongoing construction of two nuclear power plants.
Russia's Rosatom is building the country's first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu in Turkey's southern province of Mersin, and the first unit is expected to be completed by 2022.
As for the second nuclear plant to be located in the Black Sea province of Sinop, Turkey has signed an agreement with a Franco-Japanese consortium. The plant's first unit is planned for operation in 2023.
Currently, Turkey is negotiating with China for the construction of a third one.
China's State Nuclear Power Technology Cooperation (SNPTC), together with its U.S. partner Westinghouse, has signed a multi-party agreement to enter exclusive negotiations with Turkey over the project.
SNPTC Vice President Zhang Fubao told Xinhua that the negotiations and discussions with the Turkish side are continuing.
Zhang noted that his company has the most advanced nuclear power plant technology in the world providing "excellent" safety features.
"Now, we are offering this technology to Turkey, which perfectly meets the world's nuclear power safety standards," he said.
Necati Yamac, Turkey's deputy undersecretary with the ministry of energy and natural resources, said Turkey imports 98 percent of the natural gas and 92 percent of the oil needed at home.
"That means Turkey is more than 70 percent dependent on foreign sources to its energy demands, which makes the nuclear energy highly required for the sake of the country," he noted.
The international nuclear power plants summit, the third of its kind held in Istanbul, attracted some 850 nuclear energy experts and executives from over 20 countries.
