Category: Middle East & Africa

US being petitioned to push Turkey to open border with Armenia for ethnic Armenians trapped in Syria

© Collage: Voice of Russia

The American White House internet site, or rather its section “We are citizens”, which collects signatures under various kinds of petitions, once again has become an arena for discussion of an absolutely non-American problem. One Armenian political scientist has announced that signatures were being collected under an appeal urging Washington to force Turkey to open the border with Armenia for the sake of the fleeing refugees from Syria. The Voice of Russia’s correspondent in the United States, Roman Mamonov, has tried to find out if there is any connection with America.

Six hundred twenty-five signatures in nine days is a modest result (as of Monday morning) of the petition, posted on the White House site by Daniel Ioannisyan, member of the Heritage opposition party. In this short document (only 10 lines) he calls upon the US government to put pressure on Turkey so that it opens the border with Armenia for the free migration of refugees from Syria. According to Ioannisyan, more than 60 thousand people were killed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, and half a million people were forced to flee the country. According to the politician, 200 thousand ethnic Armenians live in Syria, most of whom supposedly want to leave the war-stricken Republic and return to their homeland. But the Turkish-Armenian border, which has been closed since 1993, prevents them from doing so. And now Daniel Ioannisyan means to exert pressure on Ankara with the help of Washington. The petition ends with a dramatic phrase, “There should be no closed borders in the 21st century”.

Even in Armenia, many responded with skepticism to this initiative. Firstly, the very idea of appealing to Washington from Yerevan in order to put pressure on Ankara because of the situation in Syria looks strange.

Secondly, political analysts doubt that there are so many Armenians in Syria who are ready to abandon everything and fly away to their homeland. And the question remains whether Armenia is ready to welcome this number of migrants.

Users (from any country of the world) have until February 4 to obtain 25 thousand signatures in order to make the US Administration respond to this appeal. But judging by the current trend, approximately 70 signatures a day, the document will not be sent to the White House, unless a miracle happens.

It is noteworthy that foreign politicians have long used the “We are citizens” section of the White House website as a means of addressing Washington. At present, signatures are being collected under the appeal to stop trafficking of human organs in China, the appeal to stop the persecution of Shia Muslims in Pakistan, and the appeal to monitor the situation with political rights in Venezuela. There is also a petition with the request to recognize the genocide of the Sikhs in India in 1984.

via US being petitioned to push Turkey to open border with Armenia for ethnic Armenians trapped in Syria: Voice of Russia.

January 15, 2013
Turkey, Egypt sign cooperation protocol in iron and steel trade

Turkish Deputy Economy Minister Mustafa Sever said they plan to increase the trade volume between Turkey and Egypt to 10 billion USD from 5 billion USD and increase the Turkish investments in Egypt to 5 billion USD from 2 billion USD.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkey and Egypt have signed a protocol on cooperation in iron and steel trade. Penned by the Union of Turkish Steel Exporters and the Union of Egypt International Business and Investment, the protocol aims to boost the iron and steel trade between the two countries and enhance cooperation between the sectors.

Turkish Deputy Economy Minister Mustafa Sever said they plan to increase the trade volume between Turkey and Egypt to 10 billion USD from 5 billion USD and increase the Turkish investments in Egypt to 5 billion USD from 2 billion USD.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Egypt Huseyin Avni Botsali said the relationship between Turkey and Egypt should be a model for other countries, and added that the 21st century would be the century for Turkey and Egypt.

Botsali said Turkey would support Egypt in every means on its rebuilding process, and Egypt’s development would bring confidence and stability to the region.

via Turkey, Egypt sign cooperation protocol in iron and steel trade | Economy | World Bulletin.

January 15, 2013
Turkey’s big thirst for new power

Turkey’s big thirst for new power

Florian Neuhof

Turkey is in a rush to grow its energy sector. And recent news that the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as Taqa, will invest heavily in Turkish coal-fired power plants shows how serious Ankara is taking this commitment.

The deal, announced at the start of the year, will see Taqa build and operate a power generation base totalling 7,000 megawatts, or about 10 per cent of Turkey’s electricity needs by the time the plants are completed.

Turkey’s energy minister, Taner Yildiz, is keen to emphasise that efforts will be taken to minimise the environmental impact of the country’s power sector.

The plants will be fed with lignite, a soft brown coal reviled by environmentalists for the emissions its use entails. Lignite is found in Turkey’s soil and offers some relief in the complicated task of securing hydrocarbons from abroad.

Turkey is dependent on imports for 91 per cent of its oil and 98 per cent of its natural gas and it relies heavily on Iran and Russia for its supplies. It is therefore keen to push the share of electricity produced from gas from about 50 per cent to less than 30 per cent in the next decade and to diversify its hydrocarbon sources.

Turkey has reluctantly complied with United States and European Union demands to reduce imports from Iran as part of a new round of sanctions, but its dependence on Iranian supply has meant it has refused to cut economic ties with the country.

Nevertheless, Turkey has announced it will import more Saudi Arabian and Libyan crude to counter the effect of the sanctions on Iran and the trend for Arabian Gulf oil to depart to Asia.

Turkey’s confrontational stance with Syria, Tehran’s long-time ally, could also endanger imports from Iran.

Iraq’s immense oil and gas reserves are another source of hydrocarbons, and a pipeline already flushes 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi crude across the border to the Turkish harbour of Ceyhan. But, rather than focusing on good relations with Baghdad, Ankara seems intent on carving out its own oil and gas base in Iraq by encouraging the autonomous Kurdish north in its efforts to create an independent energy sector.

The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey are close to signing a deal under which the Turks will build production and pipeline capacity in Kurdistan, enabling the Kurds to export their hydrocarbons outside the Iraqi infrastructure.

The KRG’s efforts to take control of its resources is a huge source of irritation to Iraq’s central government. While closer ties with Erbil can serve to secure a great deal of oil and gas supply, the uncertainty of the geopolitics can also undermine future security of supply.

Turkey pays attention to its gas supply in particular. With electricity use projected to rise dramatically in the coming decades, adding further gas imports is crucial in spite of efforts to reduce its share in power generation.

But Turkey also has ambitions to establish itself as a gas-trading hub between the Middle East, gas rich Azerbaijan and Europe. Turkey and Azerbaijan have agreed on the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline project that will connect the latter’s Shah Deniz II gasfield development with the Bosphorus.

Turkish demand for gas stood at about 125,000 cubic metres a day at the end of last year. Before it can think of gaining in status as a transit hub it needs to ensure its own demands are met, experts say.

“It still needs to facilitate additional gas purchases and encourage new developments such as Shah Deniz Phase II and Kurdistan volumes to meet its own requirements,” says Stephen O’Rourke, a gas supply analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

Although piped gas plays the biggest part in Turkey’s thinking, Ankara has remained open to all options. This month, Mr Yildiz announced that he was in discussions with Qatar over an import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Another future source of gas could be the Levant Basin, where huge reserves are believed to lie under the deep seabed. But Turkey’s confrontational stance towards Greece and its icy relations with Israel disadvantages Ankara’s position in the Mediterranean, in spite of an exploration agreement with North Cyprus.

If the Levant Basin fulfils its potential and starts yielding large amounts of gas, it could threaten Turkey’s position as a transit hub, analysts predict, as the most direct route to Europe is via Greece. But gas produced there may not be destined to Europe, anyhow.

“We expect LNG to be the most likely export monetisation solution for these discoveries, and consequently Europe is not a guaranteed market for this gas,” says Mr O’Rourke.

Overall, Turkey remains in a strong position to secure the gas necessary for its economic growth and to make it a significant regional hub.

“Turkey should be able to maintain its long-term energy objectives. However, this will become more complicated, given its increasingly complicated relationships with Syria, Iran, Cyprus, and Israel,” says Daniel Wagner, the chief executive of the consultancy Control Risk Solutions.

via Turkey’s big thirst for new power – The National.

January 14, 2013
Turkey firm invests in Tanzania

A renowned Turkish manufacturing company dealing with electronic appliances, BEKO has opened its showroom in the country in collaboration with Modern Holdings (EA) Ltd, making Tanzania a base for expansion of its footprint in East Africa.

While inaugurating the launch at KIDA Plaza in Mikocheni B, Dar es Salaam at the weekend, Premier Mizengo Pinda stressed the need to promote and strengthen the good bilateral relations between Tanzania and Turkey.

“We are determined to develop our bilateral relations with Turkey in every field and we are happy to see world class Turkish producers in our country,” said the premier. According to Premier, Turkey’s exports to Tanzania in 2011 were $170.7 million compared to $89.3 million posted in 2010.

The top export categories were iron and steel ($63.1 million), petroleum products and related materials ($36.1 million). Mr Pinda said Tanzania’s exports to Turkey were $21.7 million in 2011, an increase of 52 per cent compared to $14.3 million in 2010. The top five export categories for 2011 were tobacco and tobacco products.

via DailyNews Online Edition – Turkey firm invests in Tanzania.

January 14, 2013
Istanbul to become center of attention for Africans

Chairman of Property Investors’ Association of Arab Countries and Turkic States, Abdullah Ciftci, has stated that wealthy Africans would start to prefer Istanbul to invest in real estate.

Stating that Turkey drew attention from Africa and the Arab world following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visits to these countries, Ciftci said, “Together with reciprocity, the Arabs took action to buy real estate in Turkey. However, not only Arabs’, but also African citizens’ purchasing of real estate from Turkey is to increase.”

“Turkish PM Erdogan’s initiatives and visits in different Arab countries led way to Turks and Arabs remembering their historical ties and Arabs headed towards Turkey. Similarly, Africa with 55 countries and over one billion in population, has a sympathy towards Turkey,” said Ciftci.

Ciftci also said that the wealthy Africans and businessmen who used to buy real estate in metropolitan cities of the world such as London, Paris and New York, are to prefer Istanbul in politically and economically re-shaping world.

via Istanbul to become center of attention for Africans | Economy | World Bulletin.

January 12, 2013
Turkey-Israel Tensions Set Back Turkish Energy Interests

Tulin Daloglu for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse. posted on January 10.

A general view of Ambarli gas-fired power station, idled in a supply dispute with Ukraine, in Istanbul, Jan. 8, 2009. (photo by REUTERS/Osman Orsal)

Surrounded by 70% of the world’s oil and natural gas reserves, Turkey is almost completely dependent on imports to meet its needs for hydrocarbon energy. Despite this hard reality, Turkey’s Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz said, “We aim to have a Turkey in 2023 that won’t import oil or natural gas,” and, “We will also continue our work turning Turkey into an energy hub.”

As Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse has reported here, and here, the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean basin not only caught the Turkish leadership unprepared, it also revealed the shortsightedness of their approach of designating Israel as an enemy. When Turkey and Israel engaged in dialogue on building an “infrastructure corridor” linking port cities of these two countries, which would have included five separate underwater pipelines for oil, natural gas, electricity, water and communications, they were also seeking to cement a strategic partnership. While anyone who can repair the personal and political rupture between Prime Minister Erdogan and the Israeli leadership will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, the fact is that the loss of Turkey as a partner isn’t really all that damaging for Israel.

“When we were talking about the infrastructure corridor, it was 2005 and later 2007,” Binyamin Fuad Ben Eli Ezer, former Israeli minister of infrastructure told Al-Monitor. “I tried to find a way to buy gas from Gazprom, Russia, as quick as possible. Today, we don’t need that. The new discoveries in Leviathan and Tamar will be good for us for at least 300 years.”

Leviathan and Tamar are newly discovered huge gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. Israel certainly has the full sovereignty to explore and exploit these fields. The issue that brings Turkey into the equation is more about the way the natural gas will be brought to surface and carried to international markets for consumption. Ben Eli Ezer, who was the founding father of the idea of the “infrastructure corridor,” also sheds some light on this dilemma.

“Erdogan blessed it. I went with all the maps and the work we’ve done and we found that it is more than possible to do it by these underwater pipelines. It’s an economic one, good one, too,” Ben Eli Ezer said. “If you ask me something happened with Calik. He came to Israel eight or nine times. Both [Ehud] Olmert and [Ariel] Sharon were more than happy about this project from the beginning.”

A giant company with diversified interests from energy to media, Çalik Holding was tasked with preparing a feasibility report by the Erdogan government. Chief Executive Officer Ahmet Çalik is also known as a close friend of Erdogan. “Çalik kept it at ‘wait and see.’ Then the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident happened, and everything blew up,” Ben Eli Ezer said. That still leaves room to speculate as to whether this “infrastructure corridor” between Turkey and Israel that was going to build pipelines under the deep waters of the Mediterranean was really doable. It’s not really the distance that matters, but the engineering that this project requires is certainly a challenging one.

Ben Eli Ezer, however, thinks that if people put their minds to it, the project is still possible and that he would prefer to do it with Turkey and normalize relations with the Ankara government.

“I want to make a statement,” Ben Eli Ezer told Al-Monitor. “The government of Israel, the prime minister of Israel — as far as I know, he’s more than interested to bring back normalization of the relation with Turkey. He’s keen to find the formula that will satisfy both sides.” He then went on to say this: “You see, there is two almost super nations that we have to consider in the Middle East — Turkey and Egypt. We have border with Egypt, which makes it more important for us. But we also don’t need Turkey on the other side.”

Yet the Erdogan-Davutoglu policy is crystal clear on using Israel as a whipping boy at every opportunity. So far, this approach has won them the masses on the Arab street. Erdogan continues to claim that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is the mother of all problems in the region, as if the reason people in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria put their lives on the line to bring down dictators had anything to do with Israel’s unresolved dispute with the Palestinians. Israeli officials have expressed privately many times that under these circumstances, it’s not possible to trust Turkey anymore. “It takes years to build trust, and takes only minutes to dissolve it,” one senior Israeli official told — Although Ben Eli Ezer expressed a desire, despite all these challenges, to rejuvenate the “infrastructure project,” he also said, “But I don’t see how.”

In short, a Turkey in fights with all the countries in the region rich with oil and natural gas reserves only harms its own long-term interests — and undermines the goals that Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has set: “We aim to have a Turkey in 2023 that won’t import oil or natural gas,” and “We also continue our work turning Turkey into an energy hub.”

Tulin Daloglu is a columnist for Al-Monitor and a foreign-policy analyst based in Ankara, Turkey. She tweets @TulinDaloglu.

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2013/01/israel-turkey-tensions-energy.html#ixzz2HfQDvEUG

January 11, 2013