Turkey was Recommended to Cooperate with the Gulf for Energy… Diversification of energy sources and Turkey-Gulf relations were addressed with a meeting held at TEPAV.

ANKARA – TEPAV held a meeting with the title “The Role of the Gulf in Turkey's Energy Diversification” on October 21, 2011, Friday.

Delivering a speech during the meeting, Justin Dargin, Energy Law Expert and Associate at the BELFER Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, stated that Turkey had to be externally oriented since it did not have its own resources and in this context recommended Turkey to cooperate with the Gulf countries. Dargin maintained that the growing relations between the Gulf region and Turkey could be expanded into the field of energy.

Dargin stated that almost 50% of the world’s oil reserves came from six Gulf Cooperation Council member countries excluding Yemen. Drawing attention to the relations between the Council member countries and Turkey, he said that the relations in terms of the energy sector were low but there was a room to grow. He emphasized that the council designated Turkey as a “strategic ally” in 2008 and that Turkey was the first non-Arab country designated as a strategic ally.

He said that Turkey was more visible in the region in terms of energy and was a energy transit key player. Stressing that although Gulf Cooperation Member Countries had high per capita GDPs, they were in a dangerous and an unstable region. He in this context drew attention to Turkey’s advantageous position in the region.

In the meeting attended by the representatives of relevant public institutions, officials from the Ministry of Energy maintained that Turkey was carrying out operations to diversify its energy resources.

The meeting was closed after the comments and questions from the participants.