Israel and Turkey have agreed to open discussions on building a gas pipeline to pump Israeli gas to Europe, as Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz makes the first ministerial visit since a crisis in ties.
Steinitz met his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak in Istanbul, where the World Energy Congress is taking place.
Hailing his visit as the start of economic benefits of normalization, Steinitz says the countries agreed to start examining the feasibility of building an undersea gas pipeline to pump Israeli gas to Turkish consumers and on to Europe.
“What we decided is to establish immediately a dialogue between our two governments… in order to examine the possibility and the feasibility of such a project,” he says.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz listens to questions during a press conference at the 23rd World Energy Congress on October 13, 2016 in Istanbul. (AFP/OZAN KOSE)
He says that while Israel was also building regional energy cooperation links with Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece, “the Turkish option is very important.”
Israel “will also be glad to see Turkish companies involved in Israeli energy sector,” including in the exploration of gas fields, he says.
Albayrak says in a statement that the two ministers had agreed “to establish dialogue on exporting natural gas.”
Ankara indicated at the World Energy Congress earlier in the week they were looking to partner with Israel in bringing gas to Europe.
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Thursday, October 13, 2016
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