Outlook to nonproliferation activities in the world and cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy among Turkey, Caucasus and Central Asia

Full text: Following the First Geneva Conference in 1955 for expanding peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Turkey was one of the first countries to start activities in the nuclear field. Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) was established in 1956 and Turkey became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency established in 1957. TAEK was established to support, co-ordinate and perform the activities in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and act as a regulatory body and establish cooperation with countries and international organizations. In the late nineteen-ninetieth, TAEK, besides the cooperation with various countries, has involved in cooperating with nuclear institutes of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for establishment of bilateral and multilateral scientific and technical cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and signed protocols with Scientific Organisations of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. These protocols enable parties to organize joint projects, conferences, seminars, training programs, establish laboratories for the joint studies and make joint efforts to seek support from their governments and international organizations for these activities. Also, an executive committee has been set up with delegates from each organization under TAEK that also provides the secretarial service for organizing the joint activities. Turkey supports the non-proliferation activities that do not prevent the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and in this respect as signed Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have also signed these Treaties following their independence and, except Kyrgyzstan, have become members to IAEA