BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Turkey’s Prime Minister has called a visit by his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the beginning of a strategic partnership. Tayyip Erdogan made the remarks in the Turkish capital Ankara, after the two sides signed a major nuclear power deal. 

The agreement calls for the construction of a nuclear power plant to be built on Turkeys’ Black Sea Coast within the next ten years, if not sooner. Japanese-French collaboration is part of the deal as Japan’s Mitsubishi and Frances Areva won the bid for the nuclear project..

Turkey, which signed a deal with Russia to build its’ first nuclear power plant’ in 2010, is eager to obtain different sources of energy.

"As a developing country, we need variety in the energy sources that we use, the more energy we use the more we are able to to express how civilized we are. That is why we are taking these steps. First with Russia, now with Japan," Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister said.

Japan and Turkey share the need for nuclear power but the reality they are both in earthquake zones. Noting the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan nevertheless stood behind the safety of nuclear power.

"Are we to avoid getting into a car in case there might be an accident? In nuclear energy, the most developed technologies will be used, investments will be made, and our approach must be = the chanes of an accident are a million to one," Tayyip Erdogan said.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe stated this deal is a part of a larger cooperation between the two countries.

"With friends from the business world, it was discussed that more economic cooperation would be made in the fields of infrastructure, health and food," Shinzo Abe said.

The nuclear plant consortium signed today by Japan and Turkey aims to increase bilateral cooperation between the two countries and in the long term decrease Turkeys’ energy dependency. Michal Bardavid CCTV Istanbul.

(Source: CNTV.cn)