Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dreams of becoming the Caliph of the Islamic world and he wants to make Turkey a nuclear power.
For this, he needs nuclear technology but he has been able to get it neither from US nor from Russia. In such a situation, Erdogan looked towards India and sought it’s help in running a peaceful nuclear program to get this technology. Turkey has limited options to meet its energy needs and it wanted to meet its energy needs by acquiring thorium-based technology from India and wanted to reach the nuclear bomb through this route. Erdogan also visited Delhi in 2008, 2017 and 2018 for this, but India, sensing his intentions, refused to share the technology of generating electricity from thorium. Turkey has 381,000 tonnes of thorium but not the technology that India has.
Thorium reserves in Kerala
Uranium is generally considered the best option for making nuclear bombs and peaceful use of nuclear energy. India’s great scientist and father of the nuclear program, Homi Jhangir Bhabha, knew very well that the world’s top uranium producing countries are countries like Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia, Australia and Russia, from where it is not easy to get uranium and it is very expensive to buy it.
Therefore, Bhabha amazed the world by making thorium, which is available in abundant quantities in India, as an alternative. India’s nuclear program is based on a strategy to develop nuclear energy by Homi Jhangir Bhabha, which focuses on the judicious use of the limited uranium resources and huge thorium reserves available in the country. It was prepared by Dr. Homi Bhabha to meet India’s long-term energy needs and ensure self-sufficiency.
Thorium deposits are present in the coastal areas of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha in India. Thorium-232 can be converted into uranium-233 with the help of neutrons, which is a fissile fuel. This fuel can be used to generate electricity in nuclear reactors. Atomic bombs cannot be made directly from Thorium-232. It can be converted into Uranium-233 to make bombs. Thorium is a very promising and safe nuclear fuel. Its main use is energy production, but it is also used in industry and research. Promoting its peaceful uses can be part of the solution to the energy crisis in the future. Turkey does not have its own oil and gas. That is why it wanted to prepare to generate nuclear power because Thorium is present there in the same way as it is found in Kerala.
Turkiye has huge energy needs, eyes on thorium
Turkey is an energy importing country with more than half of its energy needs met by imported fuel. Like other countries, energy is essential for economic and social development and a better quality of life in Turkey. Turkey uses many energy resources, but it is an energy importing country because these resources are limited. More than half of the country’s primary energy consumption is met by imports and the import share is increasing every year. Turkey has a large and growing manufacturing base that requires an increasing amount of electricity generation. Economic and population growth in Turkey is increasing the demand for energy and natural resources. Turkey’s coastal ports, important for global trade, are facing energy challenges that can be addressed by nuclear energy.
Turkey imports three-quarters of its energy, including half coal and almost all oil and gas, and its energy policy prioritises reducing imports. Oil meets more than a quarter of Turkey’s energy needs. Since Turkey produces very little oil, it is almost entirely dependent on imports of oil and oil products such as petrol and diesel, more than half of which are consumed by the country’s vehicles. This is a problem for its economy. There is currently a strong opposition to Erdogan in Turkey as it is struggling with an economic recession.
With India’s help, he could not only make his country prosperous but could also become the hero of the Islamic world by becoming a nuclear power. This is the reason why Erdogan hates India and does not shy away from helping India’s poor enemy Pakistan.