Turkish President Unveils Plan for International Gas Center in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled a plan to establish an international natural gas center in Turkey, similar to the two centers in London and Hamburg.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled a plan to establish an international natural gas center in Turkey, similar to the two centers in London and Hamburg.
The Turkish President noted in an interview with reporters on his way back from Sochi, Russia, that Turkey intends to discuss the plan with Russia.
Erdogan said: “During our meeting with Mr. Putin (in Sochi), we discussed energy cooperation in detail. We will implement various projects to transport energy resources to Europe and to the countries of the world through the territory of our country. As for the creation of a gas center in Turkey, we will achieve progress on issues related to the transmission of energy resources and pricing.”
The Vision for Turkey as an Energy Hub
The Turkish President added: “We have announced that we will turn our country into an energy hub, and within this framework, we are working to create the infrastructure and provide the necessary funds for this. Through the investments of recent years, we will turn Turkey into an important gas base for regional geography. Step by step, we are moving closer to our goal of turning Turkey into a regional energy center and then into a global center.
He stressed that Ankara intends to maintain Turkish-Russian relations in the energy sector on the basis of mutual benefit and in a way that serves the interests of the two countries.
The idea of creating a gas center in Turkey was first proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last October, when he suggested to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that a “gas center” be set up in Turkey to export gas to Europe.