Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, highlighted Turkey’s energy strategy and future goals at the Atlantic Council Regional Clean and Secure Energy Conference. Emphasizing the need to increase the existing pipeline capacity with Bulgaria and Greece to allow Turkey to export more natural gas to Southeastern European countries, Bayraktar stated that Turkey will actively participate in these investments. He noted that Turkey focuses on five main areas in its energy planning: renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, natural gas as a transition fuel, and mineral support for energy transformation. Turkey plans to increase its renewable energy capacity by 5,000 megawatts annually and aims to reach 90,000 megawatts by 2035. Bayraktar also mentioned the rapid progress in Turkey’s nuclear energy investments, stating that the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will be operational in 2025, covering 10% of Turkey’s electricity needs. Regarding natural gas, Bayraktar highlighted that Turkey is the fourth-largest market in Europe and has increased its gasification capacity fivefold through LNG investments. He mentioned Turkey’s goal to increase daily production in the Black Sea through natural gas discoveries, aiming to reach a production capacity of 20 million cubic meters per day by 2026. Bayraktar further expressed that through energy efficiency projects, Turkey aims to save $26 billion by 2040 and is determined to reduce carbon emissions. Investments in Turkey’s electricity transmission infrastructure and the expansion of the energy exchange market will also be key focus areas in the upcoming period.