ISTANBUL
Turkey should curb its reliance on energy imports, the country’s deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc said on Friday.
"Turkey should invest more, particularly in oil, natural gas and different energy development, and should meet its energy needs though domestic means,” Arinc said, speaking at an energy conference held by the 'International Platform for Young Entrepreneurs' at Bilgi University in Istanbul.
“There are many problems stemming from our dependence on oil and natural gas. We are trying to overcome these problems,” Arinc explained.
The comments come after Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Tuesday that a third nuclear power plant in Turkey would be built by domestic experts between 2018 and 2019.
Turkey is currently dependent on foreign imports for 74 percent of its energy needs. "This puts a strain on the budget deficit and the [finance] ministry is working on ways to increase the share of renewable resources in the energy mix," Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's minister of finance said on Thursday.
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