Türkiye Targets 20 GW Nuclear by 2050 as Eurasia Eyes Finance Link
(MENAFN) Energy security and the financial plumbing needed to knit Eurasia’s economies closer together dominated Friday, the closing day of the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul.
Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told the forum that a world grappling with geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions and climbing energy demand must diversify, invest more and cooperate across borders.
Türkiye imports almost 70% of its energy, Bayraktar said, making less reliance on foreign supply a strategic priority for both its economy and its national security. Renewables account for more than 62% of the country’s installed electricity generation capacity, and combined wind and solar capacity has passed 43 gigawatts, he said.
Türkiye plans major energy spending
Bayraktar said Türkiye will need substantial investment in its power grid in the years ahead to absorb more renewable capacity, strengthen resilience and expand cross-border electricity trade.
Ankara plans to hold its first offshore wind tenders in the first half of 2027. Its Renewable Energy Resource Area program is designed to allocate 2 GW of new capacity every year.
On nuclear power, Bayraktar said work continues with Russia’s Rosatom to bring the first reactor at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant online in the coming months. With all four reactors running, the 4.8-GW facility is projected to supply about 10% of Türkiye’s electricity demand. The country is targeting 20 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050, split between conventional reactors and small modular reactors.
Bayraktar also stressed Türkiye’s location between energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, saying Ankara wants to cement its role as a dependable link between regional markets.
COP31 host to prioritize delivery
Türkiye hosts the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya next month. Bayraktar said its presidency will center the agenda on implementation, turning pledges into investment, technology rollout and tangible results.
He rejected a one-size-fits-all energy transition, arguing that countries have different energy systems and development needs.
Türkiye will also push a voluntary “35 by 35” global electrification pledge, which seeks to lift electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035, Bayraktar said. Delivering the required investment, he added, will depend on mobilizing private capital, international financial institutions and technology partnerships.
Eurasia weighs tighter financial ties
The push for deeper financial connectivity was also on the agenda at the “Financial markets in the heart of Eurasia: Resilience, Infrastructure, Undervalued Opportunities” panel, where officials and finance executives discussed how regional capital markets could be better linked.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov argued that deeper, more liquid capital markets would be more attractive and efficient, and that Eurasian economies have ample room for greater financial integration.
The Eurasian Economic Union has started rolling out mechanisms to ease cross-border market access for investors and issuers, Chebeskov said, and a mechanism opening access to professional market participants is close to completion. Integrating market infrastructure, including exchanges and depositories, is another priority. Within the BRICS group, which also includes Brazil, India, China and several other nations, pilots involving the Moscow Exchange and Russia’s National Settlement Depository are testing links between the capital markets of interested members. National currencies, he added, are likely to play a growing role.
Russian markets turn inward
Moscow Exchange Chairman Viktor Zhidkov said trading in Russian equities is now concentrated at home, with stock and bond placements happening locally and domestic demand strong enough to absorb them.
Retail investors’ stock market holdings have almost doubled in five years to 16 trillion rubles ($199 billion), he said. Private investors have put more than 4 trillion rubles ($50 billion) into corporate bonds on the Moscow Exchange since 2022. Corporate bond placements hit 7.2 trillion rubles ($89.6 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, up 20% year on year, according to Zhidkov.
Gazprom’s First Deputy Head of Department Ignat Dirks described a similar shift inside the company. Foreign markets’ share of its financing portfolio fell from 77% in 2022 to 13% by mid-2026, he said. Over the past four years, Gazprom raised more than $14 billion domestically for refinancing and about $20 billion to fund new projects. Dirks credited the restructuring to the growing maturity of Russia’s domestic financial market.
Common standards seen as the key
Gazprombank Deputy Chairperson Elena Borisenko stressed the need for greater complementarity and specialization among financial centers. Shared standards, compliance rules and approaches would build financial compatibility, she said, while the quality of settlement systems, capital flows, trade finance and investment products will determine how resilient and effective Eurasia’s financial architecture proves.
The 19th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum took place Thursday and Friday at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace. Italy’s Associazione Conoscere Eurasia organized it, with support from Türkiye’s MUSIAD and Ibn Haldun University. It drew political, diplomatic, academic and business representatives from more than 30 countries.
Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told the forum that a world grappling with geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions and climbing energy demand must diversify, invest more and cooperate across borders.
Türkiye imports almost 70% of its energy, Bayraktar said, making less reliance on foreign supply a strategic priority for both its economy and its national security. Renewables account for more than 62% of the country’s installed electricity generation capacity, and combined wind and solar capacity has passed 43 gigawatts, he said.
Türkiye plans major energy spending
Bayraktar said Türkiye will need substantial investment in its power grid in the years ahead to absorb more renewable capacity, strengthen resilience and expand cross-border electricity trade.
Ankara plans to hold its first offshore wind tenders in the first half of 2027. Its Renewable Energy Resource Area program is designed to allocate 2 GW of new capacity every year.
On nuclear power, Bayraktar said work continues with Russia’s Rosatom to bring the first reactor at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant online in the coming months. With all four reactors running, the 4.8-GW facility is projected to supply about 10% of Türkiye’s electricity demand. The country is targeting 20 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050, split between conventional reactors and small modular reactors.
Bayraktar also stressed Türkiye’s location between energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, saying Ankara wants to cement its role as a dependable link between regional markets.
COP31 host to prioritize delivery
Türkiye hosts the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya next month. Bayraktar said its presidency will center the agenda on implementation, turning pledges into investment, technology rollout and tangible results.
He rejected a one-size-fits-all energy transition, arguing that countries have different energy systems and development needs.
Türkiye will also push a voluntary “35 by 35” global electrification pledge, which seeks to lift electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035, Bayraktar said. Delivering the required investment, he added, will depend on mobilizing private capital, international financial institutions and technology partnerships.
Eurasia weighs tighter financial ties
The push for deeper financial connectivity was also on the agenda at the “Financial markets in the heart of Eurasia: Resilience, Infrastructure, Undervalued Opportunities” panel, where officials and finance executives discussed how regional capital markets could be better linked.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov argued that deeper, more liquid capital markets would be more attractive and efficient, and that Eurasian economies have ample room for greater financial integration.
The Eurasian Economic Union has started rolling out mechanisms to ease cross-border market access for investors and issuers, Chebeskov said, and a mechanism opening access to professional market participants is close to completion. Integrating market infrastructure, including exchanges and depositories, is another priority. Within the BRICS group, which also includes Brazil, India, China and several other nations, pilots involving the Moscow Exchange and Russia’s National Settlement Depository are testing links between the capital markets of interested members. National currencies, he added, are likely to play a growing role.
Russian markets turn inward
Moscow Exchange Chairman Viktor Zhidkov said trading in Russian equities is now concentrated at home, with stock and bond placements happening locally and domestic demand strong enough to absorb them.
Retail investors’ stock market holdings have almost doubled in five years to 16 trillion rubles ($199 billion), he said. Private investors have put more than 4 trillion rubles ($50 billion) into corporate bonds on the Moscow Exchange since 2022. Corporate bond placements hit 7.2 trillion rubles ($89.6 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, up 20% year on year, according to Zhidkov.
Gazprom’s First Deputy Head of Department Ignat Dirks described a similar shift inside the company. Foreign markets’ share of its financing portfolio fell from 77% in 2022 to 13% by mid-2026, he said. Over the past four years, Gazprom raised more than $14 billion domestically for refinancing and about $20 billion to fund new projects. Dirks credited the restructuring to the growing maturity of Russia’s domestic financial market.
Common standards seen as the key
Gazprombank Deputy Chairperson Elena Borisenko stressed the need for greater complementarity and specialization among financial centers. Shared standards, compliance rules and approaches would build financial compatibility, she said, while the quality of settlement systems, capital flows, trade finance and investment products will determine how resilient and effective Eurasia’s financial architecture proves.
The 19th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum took place Thursday and Friday at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace. Italy’s Associazione Conoscere Eurasia organized it, with support from Türkiye’s MUSIAD and Ibn Haldun University. It drew political, diplomatic, academic and business representatives from more than 30 countries.
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