Türkiye is looking for more cooperation with Saudi Arabia and other countries as it plans to be an energy hub to Europe, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said Monday.
“Türkiye, due to its geographical position, is an energy corridor from Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Any kind of natural gas or oil that is going to be transported or shipped, will cost less and will be shipped more safely,” Nebati told Arab News.
The minister was speaking on the sideline of the 6th edition of the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh.
“Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are also assisting each other, which will bring peace to the region. That peace will bring more affordable gas prices, the energy prices, and will allow both countries to look ahead,” he also said.
The minister’s statements came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to form a natural gas hub in Türkiye amid the energy crisis that hit Europe hard.
"Türkiye will be a hub for natural gas. In our last meeting, we agreed with Putin on this issue. We will create a hub here with Turkish gas coming from Russia," Erdoğan said at the Justice and Development Party's (AK Parti) group meeting in the capital Ankara last week.
Putin has floated the idea of exporting more gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline running beneath the Black Sea to Türkiye, touting the country as the best route for redirecting gas supplies to the European Union after the Nord Stream pipeline leaks.
Erdoğan previously said Russian and Turkish energy authorities would work together to designate the best location for the potential gas distribution center.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of oil while it does not export gas even though its natural gas reserves amount to nearly 300 trillion cubic feet, making it the largest fifth gas reserve in the world.
