Mr Minister,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to begin my speech by expressing my pleasure to attend this Forum. I am truly honoured to address such a distinguished audience.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Caspian Strategy Institute for organising the Caspian Forum, which serves a very important purpose in promoting regional cooperation and understanding.

The agenda of the Forum touches upon all the pertinent issues that are of common interest to a wide audience. Therefore, I am confident that we will all benefit from the discussions to take place and the ideas to emerge.

Distinguished Guests,

The primary objective of the Turkish foreign policy is to create peaceful, prosperous, stable and cooperative environment in our close vicinity. As a reflection of this vision and in order to fulfill it, we are keen on promoting peace, security and stability in our entire neighbourhood. In this regard, we pay a special attention to the Caspian region not only because we enjoy significant historical, cultural and humanitarian ties with the peoples of the Caspian countries, but also due to its strategic importance.

The Caspian countries are located at the intersection of major energy and transport routes of Eurasia and stability in this part of the world is crucial for stability in Eurasia as a whole.

That is why our foreign policy is directed at improving the existing political landscape by putting into motion new dynamics favouring peace, dialogue and cooperation. We are fully committed to develop good-neighbourly relations with all countries of the Caspian based on mutual respect and a win-win mentality.


However, it is unfortunate that instability and uncertainties still prevail in this part of the world, particularly in the South Caucasus which is home to three of the four protracted conflicts of the OSCE area, namely Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Due to these protracted conflicts which have negative impacts on stability and security, the region is far from realizing its full potential of cooperation. Therefore, there is an urgent need for comprehensive and sustainable normalization in order to build an atmosphere of peace, stability and security. To this end, we need to move beyond the status quo and work on a new vision, a vision of partnership and peace.

In this context, Turkey’s proposal on the establishment of Caucasus Security and Stability Platform (CSCP) is worth mentioning. The Platform, once institutionalized will bring together all states which are directly affected by the existing conflicts and will provide them a common political venue to discuss not only their differences but also their common interests and how these interests can best be served through cooperation.

Although this initiative has not yet materialized in full, Turkey will continue to spend every effort to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflicts through cooperation and on the basis of territorial integrity of all the regional countries, including that of Azerbaijan and Georgia.

In this regard, the trilateral Ministerial Meetings Mechanism established between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran as well as between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia is yet another cooperation scheme put forward by Turkey will certainly contribute to peace and stability in the Caspian.

Turkey has also developed massive cooperation projects with its partners, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Oil Pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) Natural Gas Pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project. And now, the Trans Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is en route to realization.

As is the case with these projects, we believe that encouraging economic interdependence and cooperation among the Caspian countries will lead to a positive climate conducive to peace and prosperity.

In that respect, we continue to work on new and result-oriented ideas. For instance, during the CICA Summit in June 2010 in Istanbul, our President, H.E. Mr Abdullah Gül, proposed the establishment of a Regional Development Agency serving as an umbrella institution to implement projects, including the construction and development of energy and transport infrastructure and telecommunication networks.

We particularly believe that transportation may be a major component of long-term sustainable cooperation. As such, the Regional Development Agency could give priority to integrated transport corridor projects, including railways and highways. As part of this proposal, we have already developed the Regional Integrated Transport Corridors Project.


Distinguished Participants,

Of course, these projects are not confined to the South Caucasus alone and they encompass the entire Caspian region as a whole. But, having so far mainly focused on the South Caucasus, allow me now to say a few words on the Central Asia too, the other side of the Caspian Sea.

Turkey and the Central Asian countries share common ethnic, cultural and historical heritage. This affinity has served as a valuable foundation for the development of close relations.

As a result, during the last 20 years, we have managed to considerably deepen our solidarity and partnership with the Turkic speaking countries. In this context, we have developed many multilateral cooperation mechanisms with these countries. “The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States” and “the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic Speaking Countries” are the latest examples of this cooperation.

Turkey is committed to further improving its bilateral relations with the Central Asian countries and strengthen the existing multilateral mechanisms in the future. The ever deepening economic cooperation between Turkey and Central Asian countries have become an indispensable asset for further improvement of the excellent political relations.

Indeed, today, Turkey’s trade volume with the Central Asian countries is around 8 billion US Dollars. Turkish investments, on the other hand, have reached 5 billion US Dollars. The total value of the construction projects undertaken by the Turkish contractors is over 45 billion US Dollars. But more importantly, we have an even greater potential ahead of us and we are committed to realize it in full.

Distinguished Guests,

Let me now briefly touch upon the other two important players in the Caspian region, namely Russia and Iran.

At the bilateral level, our relations with Russia have witnessed a steady development in many fields. On the political front, we enjoy good relations based on open dialogue and mutual trust. Russia is our second main economic partner, and bilateral trade is heading towards 35 billion dollars. Just two days ago, at the Turkish-Russian High Level Cooperation Council, President Putin and Prime Minister Erdoğan have confirmed our mutual commitment to increase the bilateral trade to 100 million dollars.

They also noted that reciprocal investments have reached 10 billion dollars on each side and more is on the way. In this context, in addition to having Russia as our leading energy supplier, we are now constructing our first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu with our Russian partners. On top of this, we hosted over 3,5 million Russian tourists in 2011.

Based on this solid bilateral foundation, we are trying to expand our cooperation with Russia in regional and international issues as well. Our long standing cooperation concerning Black Sea, especially within the framework of BSEC, is a good example. And we believe that the Caspian region could well be another area where cooperation between Russia and Turkey could be further augmented.

Turkish-Iranian relations, on the other hand, have also been improving in a steady way. Considerable progress has been made especially in recent years in our bilateral relations. In particular, substantial growth in the sectors of commerce and tourism has been recorded in past few years. As such, the bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Iran increased tenfold from 1,2 billion Dollars in 2001 to 10,6 billion Dollars in 2010.


Distinguished Participants,

With their rich energy resources, the countries in the Caspian have emerged as key players in international energy politics. Today, the Caspian basin has become a focal point for untapped oil and natural gas resources. It is estimated that it holds around 12% of global oil reserves. In terms of natural gas reserves, the region is proven to have almost 7 trillion cubic meters of gas. There are even estimates that put the gas reserves as high as 20 trillion cubic meters.

As I mentioned, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines have been extremely important in transporting some of these vast reserves to the world markets. As such, these projects have contributed to both political stability and economic prosperity of the region. However, given the existing reserves, there is still an enormous potential for further projects.

In this regard, our priority is first and foremost to make the Southern Gas Corridor a reality. With that gas corridor, we are aiming at both securing the energy security of Turkey and also contributing to that of Europe. Of course, when realized, countries of the Caspian will also have a reliable alternative route in exporting their energy reserves through the southern corridor.

As to Turkey, for instance, we are currently consuming around 44 billion cubic meters of gas, supplied by a variety of countries such as the Russian Federation, Iran, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Nigeria. However, given our booming economy, Turkey’s gas demand is estimated to increase to 50 billion cubic meters in just a few years, which means that we will be in need of additional sources to meet our requirements.

As to Europe, on the other hand, there is a similar situation, albeit for different reasons. Indeed, despite the fact that in the foreseeable future natural gas demand growth will be concentrated predominantly in non-OECD countries, Europe’s demand for gas will continue to increase due to decisions taken by countries like Germany, France, Switzerland and Belgium to phase out thier nuclear energy.

Therefore the Southern Gas Corridor has as much strategic importance for the EU as it does for Turkey.

In this context, the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) project, designed to transport gas to and through Turkey will constitute a crucial component of the Southern Gas Corridor and will run from the Turkish-Georgian border to Turkey’s Western borders with Greece and/or Bulgaria.

As a first step towards realising this project, the TANAP Intergovernmental Agreement was signed by Turkey and Azerbaijan on 26 June of this year and will enter into force following the conclusion of internal ratification procedures in both countries.

Starting from 2017, TANAP will initially aim to transport Shah Deniz Phase 2 natural gas to Turkey and Europe. However the pipeline will not be restricted to Shah Deniz gas and in the future will also transport gas to be produced in other Azeri fields and possibly that of Turkmenistan too.

Turkey has long been an advocate of the Trans Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline project designed to transport Turkmen gas via the Caspian Sea onto Azerbaijan and Turkey and beyond. We believe that this project will not only contribute to the wealth and prosperity of the region but will also provide Turkmenistan with an alternative for the sale and transportation of its natural gas.

Distinguished Guests,

In concluding, I would like to reiterate once again Turkey’s commitment to peace, dialogue and cooperation in the Caspian region.

Our primary objective is to foster a strong spirit of cooperation, encourage economic integration and consolidate regional ownership.

In this regard, we should seize all opportunities to fully realize our great potential and accomplish our historic responsibility.

Through such a visionary cooperation, a brighter future for all of us is certainly within reach.

Thank you.