Japan, Turkey eye decision in 3 months on nuke power plant order+

TOKYO, Dec. 24 Kyodo -
Japan and Turkey agreed Friday to reach a ''certain conclusion'' in about three
months on whether Japan would win an order related to a planned nuclear power
plant on the Black Sea coast, a Japanese industry ministry official said.
The agreement was reached during talks in Tokyo between Japanese Economy, Trade
and Industry Minister Akihiro Ohata and visiting Turkish Energy and Natural
Resources Minister Taner Yildiz, who also signed a memorandum on civil nuclear
cooperation in areas such as the development of human resources.
At a joint press conference after the talks, Ohata promoted Japan's nuclear
power technologies as safe and earthquake-resistant, while the Turkish minister
seemed eager to seek cooperation from Japan.
''We are expecting that the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey
could be achieved under the cooperation of both the public and private sectors
of the two countries,'' Yildiz said at the press conference through an
interpreter.
The move comes amid Japan's efforts to export its nuclear power technologies,
although there is no guarantee that negotiations with Turkey would proceed
smoothly, particularly over how much financial and technological assistance
Japan would offer to the country.
Yildiz said the two countries have to come to an agreement on issues of ''what
Japan can offer'' and ''what Turkey is requesting,'' while Ohata said Japan
would also like to offer cooperation in other areas ''wherever possible,'' such
as projects related to subways and bridges.
Later in the day, the Turkish minister met with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji
Maehara and agreed that Turkey and Japan will soon enter into talks to seal a
civilian nuclear cooperation pact, which will enable Japanese firms to export
nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to Turkey.
Maehara said at a press conference that since Tokyo has been promoting exports
of its infrastructure technologies as a way of boosting its economic growth,
the country expects to win an order for the nuclear power plant project in
Turkey. ''We want to speedily negotiate the civilian nuclear pact,'' he said.
A civilian nuclear pact sets a legal framework for peaceful use and transfer of
nuclear-power technologies between signatories. Japan has so far signed such an
accord with countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France,
Kazakhstan, the United States, Russia, South Korea and Jordan.
Turkey had been negotiating earlier with South Korea about building a nuclear
plant in the Black Sea coastal city of Sinop. But South Korea said in November
it failed to reach an agreement on the matter. The two countries are believed
to have hit a snag over financial issues.
On Turkey's first nuclear power plant to be built in the city of Mersin on the
Mediterranean coast, an agreement has been reached for Russia to take part in
the project.
The Japanese government is trying to help Japanese firms export technologies
for such infrastructure as nuclear power and railways amid increasingly stiff
competition from other countries.
After experiencing some setbacks in its bid for overseas nuclear power
generation projects, Tokyo secured a basic accord to build two reactors in
Vietnam in October.
==Kyodo
2010-12-24 22:38:41


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