Turkey aims to provide electricity to Syria and strengthen its power infrastructure. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar was quoted on Friday as saying that Ankara may also work with Syria’s new leadership on oil and natural gas.
Bayraktar, who met with Turkish media representatives, said a delegation he may chair was planning to travel to Syria on Saturday to discuss electricity transmission, infrastructure and other matters.
“We must very rapidly provide electricity to parts of Syria that do not have electricity, with imports in the initial phase. In the medium-term, we also plan to increase the set electricity power, the production capacity there,” Hurriyet newspaper cited him as saying.
“There is a need for everything in Syria. We will work on the infrastructure master plan with the leaders there,” he said, adding Turkey could also send electricity to Lebanon via Syria.
After backing the Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad this month after a 13-year civil war, Turkey has emerged as one of the main power brokers in its southern neighbour and has vowed to help rebuild the country.
(Reuters)
