Ankara – Syrian Economy Minister Mohammad Nidal Al-Shaar arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday, heading an economic delegation to explore avenues for bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The Syrian delegation was received by Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat. According to Syria’s state news agency (SANA), both sides emphasized the importance of strengthening economic and trade relations.
The visit came a day after Syria and Turkey’s interior ministers met in Ankara to boost security cooperation, where the talks covered several key issues, notably supporting and developing Syrian security institutions, facilitating the affairs of Syrian citizens residing in Turkey, and emphasizing the importance of cooperation to ensure their safe and dignified return.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Ministry of Energy announced on Saturday the start of natural gas deliveries from Azerbaijan to Syria through Turkey.
Spokesman for the ministry, Ahmad Suleiman, described the move as “a new phase toward stability and sustainable development,” according to Syrian state TV channel “Al-Ikhbariyah.”
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said electricity is currently being exported to Syria through eight different connection points, with plans to boost export capacity by 25% initially and more than double it later.
He added that up to 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas could be exported annually to Syria, enough to meet the electricity needs of 5 million households, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Read more: Azeri Gas Flow to Syria Begins via Turkey
Youssef al-Youssef, Director of the Syrian Gas Company, confirmed that gas began flowing at the Qura Mazraa gas station in rural Aleppo, initially at a rate of 745,000 cubic meters per day. He noted that this will increase over the next week.
“The supply will help stabilize Syria’s power grid,” he said, adding that the daily volume will gradually rise to 3.4 million cubic meters within seven days, according to Syrian broadcaster “Syria TV.”
Two days earlier, Suleiman Khaddour, Deputy Director of the Syrian Gas Company, told +963 that the one-year renewable gas import contract includes distribution across all regions of Syria and to all power generation stations.
He noted that a week-long testing phase of the pipelines is underway before locking in the full import capacity of 3.4 million cubic meters per day.
Khaddour added that negotiations with Azerbaijan are planned to raise the volume to 6 million cubic meters per day.
Separately, Riyad al-Joubassi, Deputy Director of Oil and Gas at Syria’s Ministry of Energy, explained to +963 that the Azerbaijani gas deal was originally scheduled to start in June, but faced technical and logistical delays.
He added that Syria’s oil and gas directorate is currently working on upgrading domestic gas wells and pipeline infrastructure over the coming months.
