Canada's AtkinsRealis in running for Türkiye's third nuclear plant, Carney says

Canadian engineering company AtkinsRealis is in the running to help build Türkiye's third nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday. Speaking in Istanbul, Carney said the decision would ultimately be made by the Turkish government and could come before the end of the year. He said Canada now had better odds, adding that the chances would have been very low a year ago.

Carney's visit to Ankara, the first bilateral trip by a Canadian prime minister, saw NATO allies Canada and Türkiye upgrade relations to a "strategic partnership". The partnership covers trade, investment, defence, security and energy, and was signed after talks between Carney and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Ankara has also held talks on the third plant with South Korea, Russia, China and Japan. Rosatom is building the first plant at Akkuyu.

Türk Eximbank and Export Development Canada signed a memorandum on export credit cooperation. Negotiators will start the first round of free trade talks next month in Ankara.