New Partnerships with Turkmenistan

Minister Bayraktar also attended the meeting organized within the scope of the Year of Peace and Security and announced that they would like to establish partnerships with the host country on the development of oil and natural gas fields both on the land of Turkmenistan and in the Caspian Sea. 

Energy Perspective

Delivering a speech at the "Year of Peace and Security: International Conference on Regional Economic Cooperation in Ensuring Sustainable Development" in Ashgabat, Minister Bayraktar shared Türkiye's energy perspective with the participants. Bayraktar stated that 2025 was declared as the "International Year of Peace and Security" by the United Nations on the initiative of Turkmenistan and emphasized the necessity of increasing cooperation in the energy sector. Emphasizing that the only way to overcome challenges is to establish long-term partnerships on the basis of mutual trust, Bayraktar stated that Türkiye has shaped its energy strategy on two main challenges.

Energy Security and Independence

Bayraktar noted that one of these is energy security, pointing out that Türkiye's energy demand has tripled in the last 20 years and will increase by approximately 5 percent each year for the next 20 years. Stating that the second main challenge is energy independence, Bayraktar emphasized that Türkiye imported all of its natural gas until the discovery in the Sakarya Gas Field, and that 90 percent of its oil needs today are met through imports.

Historic Step

Bayraktar said that they have developed a comprehensive energy strategy to overcome the challenges, and that regional cooperation has come to the fore in this framework. Reminding that as of March 1, they took a historic step and imported natural gas from Turkmenistan, Bayraktar said, "Thus, for the first time, we are supplying natural gas through a pipeline from a country that does not border us. This step is of great importance not only for the diversification of our natural gas supply, but also for the transportation of Turkmenistan's natural gas to the West and Europe."

New Partnerships

Bayraktar said that they hope that in the future, with the construction of the Trans Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline, more natural gas can be transferred from Turkmenistan to Türkiye and through Türkiye to Europe. "At the same time, there are great opportunities in the upstream sector that will make this connection more meaningful. Therefore, we are also interested in partnering with Turkmenistan in the development of oil and gas fields in Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea."

Electricity is Next

Underlining that Türkiye aims to increase electricity interconnection and electricity trade with its neighbors, Bayraktar said, "We are developing projects to increase electricity trade with countries such as Georgia, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Syria while strengthening our existing connections with Bulgaria and Greece. By providing electricity to Syria, we are contributing to the reconstruction of normal life in this country. With the construction of the Trans-Caspian Power Line, Turkmenistan's electricity will also be able to reach consumer markets in the future."

High Level Reception

Minister Bayraktar was also separately received by Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, President of the People's Assembly of Turkmenistan and Serdar Berdimuhammedov, President of Turkmenistan. 

Energy Projects

Minister Bayraktar also met with Batır Amanov, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Turkmenistan responsible for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Maksat Babayev, President of Turkmengaz, and discussed the latest situation in the energy projects jointly developed by the two countries.