Turkish president expresses concern over developments in Tunisia

ANKARA 

Türkiye’s president said late Tuesday that he will speak to authorities in Tunisia to convey his concern over the arrest of Ennahda Party leader Rached Ghannouchi.

“The current administration in Tunisia arrested brother Ghannouchi. We have not yet been able to contact the authorities in Tunisia over the phone but will continue to try to reach them. If we are able to speak to them, we will tell them that we do not find this appropriate,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised interview.

Tunisian security forces arrested Ghannouchi late Monday and took him in for interrogation at a National Guard building in the capital Tunis.

Turning to the latest clashes in Sudan, Erdogan said: “We are following the developments in Sudan with concern. Today, I spoke to my brother (Abdelmadjid) Tebboune, the president of Algeria. I will have talks with both sides in Sudan.”

Noting that Türkiye is ready to provide all means of support to Sudan’s peace and stability, President Erdogan urged Sudanese “people to continue to build the country’s future together by putting disputes aside.”

Fighting erupted Saturday between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum and its surroundings.

Since then, at least 185 people have been killed and 1,800 injured in armed clashes between the military rivals, according to the OHCHR, the UN’s human rights office.

Asked about the recently inaugurated Istanbul Finance Center (IFC), Erdogan said they aim to position the IFC among the top 10 finance centers of the world in 10 years.

Run by the Türkiye Wealth Fund and developed in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the IFC project was launched in 2009.

The center, which was built with an investment of 65 billion Turkish liras ($3.3 billion), is the country’s most prestigious project and is likely to be a hub for finance and fintech.​​​​​​​

On Black Sea natural gas, Erdogan pledged to “increase the production in the field to 40 million cubic meters in three years. When the second phase is completed, we will be able to meet the gas needs of all houses.”

“We are preparing for new explorations. Seismic work has been completed in the central Black Sea and is continuing in the Eastern Black Sea. Then the drilling will begin,” he added.

He also announced that a ceremony will be held for transporting fresh fuel to Türkiye’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) on April 27, with Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to join the ceremony via videoconference.

Kicked off as part of Russia-Türkiye collaboration, the Akkuyu NPP in Mersin province will be Türkiye’s first nuclear plant and will have an installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts and four reactors.

Saying that fuel loading, test calibration and temporary production preparations will be made, Erdogan expressed hope for the Akkuyu NPP’s first unit to start electricity production within a year.

“Three units will start up one year apart as 10% of our country’s electricity will be met from this power plant,” he said, adding the NPP will contribute $6.5 billion to the country’s economy.

Saying that Türkiye will expedite its “preparations for our country’s second nuclear power plant,” Erdogan said they have held “talks with China and South Korea. As a result of these talks, we will take the steps through the agreement which we will finalize.”

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