Speaking during an interview on the TRT Haber television channel, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez announced that Ankara and Libya’s United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate pacts, one that encompasses military cooperation and the other maritime boundaries of the two countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The maritime pact, effective from Dec. 8, asserted Turkey’s rights in the region in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the TRNC also has rights to the resources in the area.
“The legal procedure will take almost three months, and if there are no other applications, Turkish Petroleum will start new drilling activities in these areas in the following three to four months,” the minister said.
According to Dönmez, with the recent positive news from Libya, new infrastructure projects can be realized. “Turkish contractors are very familiar with the region and currently two big Turkish private firms are constructing two new big electricity production plants,” he explained, adding that these projects could become operational in one or two months.