Türkiye needs about $80 billion in electricity-grid investment through 2040 to connect additional renewable generation and expand cross-border power trade, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, Anadolu Agency reported.
Bayraktar said renewable sources make up more than 62% of Türkiye’s installed electricity-generation capacity. Wind and solar capacity together exceeds 43 gigawatts. He said Türkiye is working to strengthen energy connections with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria and Greece.
Anadolu Agency reported that Türkiye imports nearly 70% of its energy needs and described reducing that reliance as a strategic economic and national-security priority. Bayraktar made the remarks Friday, Oct. 23, on the final day of the 19th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul, after the forum’s opening program.
The forum also examined cross-border access to financial markets. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said the Eurasian Economic Union has begun developing mechanisms to ease access for investors and issuers, Anadolu Agency reported. A separate mechanism for professional market participants is nearing completion, he said. Pilot projects involving the Moscow Exchange and Russia’s National Settlement Depository are testing links among the capital markets of interested BRICS members.
Bayraktar said public resources alone would not be enough to deliver Türkiye’s targets and called for private capital and support from international financial institutions. He also called for innovative financing mechanisms and stronger technology partnerships.
Türkiye is scheduled to host COP31 in Antalya in November. Bayraktar said the country’s climate agenda should put pledges into practice through investment and wider use of technology.
