Turkey, Caspian and Central Asia Oil and Gas Ministers to Meet in Istanbul

Caspian, Central Asia and Black Sea Energy Ministers and senior State Oil and Gas company representatives from Turkey, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, United States, Ukraine, Romania, Azerbaijan, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan will meet at an annual oil and gas summit in Istanbul on 26-28 February next year to discuss regional energy issues. The Caspian and Black Sea Oil and Gas Summit and Turkish International Oil and Gas Exhibition (TURKIOG) will be officially hosted and opened by Dr. Hilmi Guler, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and senior representatives of Turkish State Petroleum company TPAO and Turkey’s Pipeline company BOTAS. A number of high-ranking delegations from International organizations and multi-lateral lending institutions including the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Co-operation, OECD, International Energy Agency (IEA), World Bank, Energy Charter Secretariat, Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) and OPIC will also attend alongside major International and regional oil and gas investors. The opening plenary session of the summit will provide a forum for discussion of a variety of Caspian energy issues including the legal status of the Caspian sea and will be host to keynote speeches from Mehdi Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister and President Khatami’s envoy for the Caspian Region, his Russian counterpart Victor Kaluzhny, Deputy Foreign Minister and President Putin’s envoy to the Caspian region and Steven Mann, U.S. Ambassador for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. Following sessions at the two day the summit will focus on oil and gas issues in the Caspian and Black Sea region as well as a country-by-country analysis of oil and gas investment opportunities.