Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 30
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Turkmenistan is a promising partner for Austria and a number of countries of the European Union (EU) in the sphere of energy security and the possibility to diversify the sources of raw materials supply, the Turkmen oil and gas complex said in a message Aug. 30.
According to a decree of Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the country’s delegation has been sent to Austria’s capital, where the 8th meeting of the joint Turkmen-Austrian commission and a business forum will be held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3.
The upcoming forum is aimed at implementation of bilateral agreements reached between Turkmenistan and Austria, as well as at further development of relation between the two countries, according to the decree.
Talks were held at the highest level in May 2015 during Berdimuhamedov’s official visit to Vienna, where the interest of European countries in natural gas supplies from Turkmenistan was noted.
Austria supports projects, which ensure diversification and depoliticization of gas routes and it is in tune with Turkmenistan’s position, said then Austria’s Former President Heinz Fischer. The Turkmen-Austrian memorandum of understanding signed in 2011 to intensify cooperation in the field of energy became one of the first steps to create the appropriate contractual legal base, he added.
Earlier, Austria was one of the authors of the “Reliable and stable transit of energy and its role in ensuring sustainable development and international cooperation” project, which was adopted at Turkmenistan’s initiative by the UN General Assembly in 2008 and 2013.
Currently, the EU, Tukmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia discuss the possibilities of Turkmen gas supplies to European market.
The Trans Caspian gas pipeline, with an annual capacity of 10-30 billion cubic meters, is one of the options for delivering Turkmen gas to European market.