Natural gas supplies launched to Syria through a joint initiative by Türkiye and Azerbaijan are helping support the country's reconstruction and regional stability, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday.
Türkiye and Azerbaijan launched gas exports to Syria last August, with the initial delivery plan foreseeing flows of 1.2 billion cubic meters annually.
The contributions of the supplies to Syria's development and regional security are "indisputable," Erdoğan said in a message to the Baku Energy Week conference.
His remarks were delivered by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar during the event's opening session.
Gas is transported through Turkish territory to Syria under a coordinated arrangement from Shah Deniz gas field in the Azeri Caspian Sea.
The gas is used to restart power plants in Syria and support basic energy needs in areas affected by conflict.
Türkiye supported opposition forces in Syria throughout the 13-year civil war that ended with the ousting of longtime dictator Bashar Assad in December 2024 and has become one of the new Syrian government's main allies.
Erdoğan said recent regional developments had demonstrated the importance of energy steps taken by Türkiye and Azerbaijan. He stressed the two countries had successfully implemented a series of major energy infrastructure projects once considered unattainable for the region.
He cited the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), which carries Azerbaijani gas to Europe through Türkiye.
Addressing the forum, Energy Minister Bayraktar said Türkiye and Azerbaijan were expanding their energy partnership beyond oil and gas into electricity transmission and green energy corridors.
He said Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bulgaria and southeast European countries were working to strengthen regional energy connectivity.
"We are going to create the electricity version of TANAP," Bayraktar said.
Türkiye is planning a $30 billion upgrade to its electricity transmission and distribution system over the next decade to accommodate higher renewable, and also nuclear, energy output.
Ankara also plans to upgrade its electricity transmission connections with eastern neighbors Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as its European neighbor Bulgaria, to trade surplus energy.
Erdoğan said cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan deepened further through joint participation in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Shah Deniz hydrocarbon fields, while a new partnership in the Shafag-Asiman offshore project demonstrated the continued expansion of bilateral ties.
The president also highlighted the strategic importance of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline, which entered service last year and strengthened energy security in Azerbaijan's exclave.
"Electricity interconnections between Türkiye and Azerbaijan continue to hold strategic importance for us," Erdoğan said.
He added that the proposed Green Electricity Transmission and Trade project linking Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Bulgaria is expected to contribute to the energy security of the wider region.
On regional energy routes, Erdoğan said there are major opportunities to improve cooperation on exporting Turkmen gas via Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
He added that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is being used increasingly to transport Kazakhstan's natural resources to Western markets.
Türkiye has a vision to ensure effectiveness across all dimensions of energy, including renewable and green energy, based on efficiency and respect for the environment, Erdoğan said.
Türkiye, he added, will reinforce its determination to be among the leading and exemplary countries in global climate action by hosting the COP31 conference in the Mediterranean city of Antalya between Nov. 9-20.
