Türkiye's energy minister and his Iraqi counterpart agreed on Tuesday to cooperate on the reconstruction of the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline system on Iraqi territory.
Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, met with Iraqi Deputy Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul-Ghani in the Turkish capital, Ankara, to discuss a broad range of bilateral and regional issues, including the Iraq-Türkiye crude oil pipeline.
The pipeline runs from Kirkuk in Iraq to Ceyhan in southern Türkiye, a region that has been affected by the twin earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6.
The ministers agreed to carry out the necessary repairs and maintenance, emphasizing in a joint statement the significance for both nations of resuming crude oil flow via the pipeline as soon as feasible following the undertaking of necessary inspections.
'They also exchanged views on the ways in which Türkiye and Iraq can deepen energy cooperation in areas of oil and gas, gas and power interconnections, renewable energy and energy efficiency,' the statement read.
The two ministers, who are the co-chairmen of the Turkish-Iraq Joint Economic Commissions, also agreed to hold the 19th meeting of the Commission at the earliest convenient date in Baghdad.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr