Turkmenistan, Romania eye energy, transport cooperation

/By Azernews/

By Nigar Abbasova

Turkmenistan and Romania are engaged in developing cooperation in energy and transport spheres.

The issue of further cooperation between the two countries was high on the agenda during the 6^th meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic and scientific-technical cooperation in Bucharest, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported.

Particular importance in bilateral relations is attributed to the creation of a new Eurasian transit-transport corridor.

The corridor is intended to combine the potential of the Caspian and Black Sea regions and ensure new fuel-efficient routes for international cargo transportation.

Previously the sides have agreed to create a joint working group to examine the best ways of the Black Sea-Caspian Sea trade and transportation corridor using the advantages of Constanta and Turkmenbashi ports.

The supply route involves the use of special containers and stretches across the Caspian Sea to Baku (Azerbaijan), further - by railway to Batumi or Poti (Georgia, the Black Sea region), and then by sea - to Romania.

Turkmenistan’s State Service of Maritime and River Transport is exploring the possibility of cargo transportation, including liquefied natural gas, to Constanta. The Port of Constanta which is located on the Western Coast of the Black Sea has a handling capacity of 100 million tons per year.

The energy sector along with the transport and communications sector is considered to be priority areas of cooperation in view of large-scale projects of regional and continental importance initiated by Turkmenistan. The country has abundant reserves in the energy resources and plans to diversify the routes of deliverance.

Being the forth in the world in terms of the volume of natural gas reserve the country is considering the European market as one of the most promising areas of gas supply.