Turkey is related with the nations of the Caucasus with deep historic roots and I heartily believe that shortly peace, stability and prosperity will become the symbols of the South Caucasus. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is a model of cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia and will become a security of prosperity of the entire region, Trend reports citing the Turkish President Ahmet Nejdet Sezer stating in his opening remarks to the BTC commission ceremony in Ceyhan terminal (named after Heydar Aliyev) port of Turkey on 13 July.
The Ceyhan port is a place of junction of the west and east civilizations, Sezer said. The implementation of the Contract of the Century once again confirmed Turkeys important role as a center of junction of Europe, Asia and Africa.
According to Sezer, Turkey is in the center of the world energy map, the place where the world major energy routes of Eurasia. Anakara is keen on taking all benefits from its geo-political position, supporting the establishment of big energy and transport corridors between Asia and Europe, Sezer stressed. The Ceyhan terminal will become a global center of energy trading. After the commissioning of the BTC it is planned to put into exploitation the Samsun-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline. Work over the Trans-Caspian pipeline is underway. The key importance will be attached to the implementation of the East-West energy corridor, in particular, the exploitation of the NABUCCO gas pipeline. It all will finally bring tremendous contribution in the economic development of entire region, as well as consolidation of peace worldwide. As a result, the significance of the BTC project exceeds its economic value. I hope the spirit of cooperation, that we witnessed during the construction of the BTC oil pipeline will be hence maintained and assist in the realization of new projects.
According to Sezer, over the past 28 years, the terminal was a gate the world for Iraqi oil, while now the significance of the terminal rose numerously and the Ceyhan port will short become an energy center of global significance.
The same time the Turkish leader voiced his satisfaction with Kazakhstans decision on joining to the BTC. Along with the Azerbaijani energy resources Kazakh oil will be delivered to the world oil markets via the Mediterranean Sea. It will enable to consolidate the East-West energy model, Sezer stressed.
In the conclusion the Turkish leader appreciated the activities of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, whose efforts made possible the implementation of the project.