Sebahittin Korkmaz, Chairman of TSE and Meral Akgün, General Manager of the French conformity assessment body, Bureau Veritas Inspection Services Turkey, signed in November 2016 a cooperation protocol for the conformity assessments in the equipment and service procurement processes of Akkuyu and Sinop Nuclear Power Plant Projects.
During the ceremony, Mr. Korkmaz indicated that nuclear energy has become an indispensable area for investment with transit pipelines and renewable energy: “There are 11 countries with nuclear technology, 32 countries with nuclear power plants, one of the most important questions for our country to ask is that we will be the twelfth country or the thirty-third country.” He emphasized that the cooperation with Bureau Veritas is a significant step to increase the transfer of technology and contribution to the construction of the nuclear power plants.
TSE increased in the last two years the internationalization of its expertise, and established a strategic partnership with the African Regional Standards Organization [ARSO] to build bilateral relations with African countries as part of TSE’s foreign policy, such as Kenya (Kenya Bureau of Standards- KEBS, June 2016), Botswana (Botswana Bureau of Standards, August 2016), Sudan* (Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization- SSMO, January 2014 and April 2016), Burkina Faso (Burkina Faso Standardization, Metrology and Quality Agency- ABNORM, August 2016), Cameroon (Cameroon’s Standard and Quality Institute – ANOR, April 2017), the Middle East, such as United Arab Emirates* (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, January 2016), Iran* (The Institute of Standards & Industrial Research of Iran- ISIRI, June 2014 and April 2016), Saudi Arabia (Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization- SASO, May 2016), Qatar (Qatar Laboratories and the Standardization Affairs, December 2016), and specific associations such as the Interregional Standardization Association (IRSA-BASB) which includes members from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan*, Mongolia*, Moldova*, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan*.
* Bureau Veritas does not have representation in these countries.