The infrastructures corridor project:

Professional Teams from Israel, Turkey and India to Meet in the Coming Days

At a meeting between Minister Ben Eliezer and his Turkish counterpart it was revealed that India is showing great interest in the Medstream project.

The Minister of Infrastructure asked – the general manager of the Turkish oil company responded: I invite Israeli companies to take part in oil exploration in the Black Sea

The Minister of National Infrastructures Binyamin (Fuad) Ben Eliezer ended a one day professional-political visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara. During his visit, Ben Eliezer met with the Turkish Energy Minister, Dr. Mehmet Hilmi Güler. At the meeting the Israeli minister updated his Turkish counterpart with regard to the talks he has been holding in recent months with Russia and Azerbaijan with regard to the possibility of supplying natural gas to Israel.

Officials of the Turkish Ministry of Energy advised the Israeli delegation with regard to the preliminary feasibility tests they performed on the Medstream project (the Infrastructure Corridor) between Turkey and Israel, which will lead oil, natural gas and optic fibers/water/electricity. The Turks also told Israel that India has shown great interest in the project, and that it wishes to participate as a major investor in the project.

At the meeting Minister Ben Eliezer said that “such regional projects only serve to bolster stability and peace in the region. This is the key to healthy relations with our neighbors. I push for the creation of joint projects with the Palestinian Authority, with Jordan and, of course, with Egypt which has been supplying natural gas to Israel for some time.”

The Turkish minister said that he appreciates Ben Eliezer’s efforts to develop the Infrastructure Corridor project and that the project goes far beyond professional ties between the two countries.

At the meeting it was agreed that professional teams of the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructures, the Turkish Ministry of Energy and of the Jordanian government will meet to draft a memorandum of understanding with regard to constructing the corridor. Minister Ben Eliezer said that the director general of the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Hezi Kugler, will coordinate the talks on his behalf.

Ben Eliezer also held talks with Mehmet Uysal, president and chairman of the Turkish national oil company, TPAO. At the meeting Uysal reviewed the company’s operations in Turkey and outside the country, particularly in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Uysal noted that, recently, Turkey has been conducting new oil and gas exploration efforts in the Black Sea which they believe contains around 10 billion barrels of oil. Dr. Güler and Uysal called on Israeli companies to join the oil explorations the company is conducting in the Black Sea, and invited them to take part in project being advanced by the Turkish government in the area.

In the picture (r-l): Turkish Energy Minister, Dr. Mehmet Hilmi Güler and Minister of National Infrastructures Binyamin (Fuad) Ben Eliezer