Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 14
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The EU and Turkmenistan are preparing a version of a legal framework agreement on future gas supplies from Turkmenistan to Europe, Trendreports referring to an interview with Lubomir Frebort, the Chargé d'Affaires of the EU Delegation to Turkmenistan, to the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.
As noted, the basis for the relevant work was the Declaration on the development of cooperation in the field of energy between Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the EU, signed on May 1, 2015. The diplomat stressed that the EU-Turkmenistan Memorandum of Understanding in the field of energy, signed in 2008, promotes cooperation in energy strategy, diversification of transit routes and the promotion of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.
In addition, the legal basis for bilateral relations is formed by a temporary trade agreement, an EU-Turkmenistan partnership and cooperation agreement, signed in May 1998 and awaiting ratification by the European Parliament.
"The EU remains one of the main trade partners of Turkmenistan, but there is greater potential for increasing our trade exchange, which amounted to about 700 million euros in 2018 (according to EU statistics)," the words of Frebort are cited.
He also noted that there is potential for large EU-Turkmenistan bilateral investments, as the country integrates into global trade and economy, including through possible entry into the World Trade Organization.
In his opinion, the investment attractiveness of the country for EU investors can be positively influenced by the current development of the private sector, especially in agriculture and production, associated with the creation of jobs with a special focus on young people; the development of a gas pipeline infrastructure serving the interests of the EU’s energy security; the development of a clean and renewable energy sector; the modernization of national and regional transport infrastructure, including efficient public transport in major cities; the creation of an attractive investment and business climate, especially in the energy sector.
Turkmenistan is studying the possibility of bringing its energy products to the European market. The Trans-Caspian project can be implemented as part of the EU-lobbied Southern Gas Corridor project.
To this end, a 300-kilometer gas pipeline will have to be laid along the Caspian seabed to the shores of Azerbaijan. The legal status of the Caspian seabed was approved in 2018 after twenty years of negotiations between the Caspian countries.
According to official Ashgabat, the EU has expressed its readiness to help attract investment in the implementation of this project.
Turkmenistan has declared its readiness to supply Europe with an annual volume of up to 40 billion cubic meters of gas. Ashgabat recently announced that the EU has expressed willingness to help attract investments in the implementation of this project.
At the German-Turkmen business forum held recently in Berlin, the issue of the prospects for Turkmen gas to enter the EU markets was raised. Head of the Turkmengaz State Concern Myrat Archayev said that the East-West gas pipeline that was commissioned in 2015 connected the gas-rich eastern regions of Turkmenistan with the west of the country and the Caspian coast.
In addition, oil and gas resources are being developed in the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea at accelerated pace, he said. With the participation of foreign investors, four projects are being implemented offshore and three onshore, he added.
“We are fully prepared to sell Turkmen gas in the European markets, only left to find the interested consumers,” he said.