World energy summit to gather Turkish-Israeli ministers

By Ebru Sengul

ANKARA (AA) - Israel's Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources, Yuval Steinitz, will meet Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak on the sidelines of the 23rd World Energy Congress (WEC) in Istanbul, according to the statement released by the Israeli Embassy in Ankara.

The statement read that Steinitz would pay a visit to Istanbul on Oct. 13 during WEC, of which Anadolu Agency is the Global Communication Partner for 2016.

"This is the first visit at ministerial level in the past six years, and it is the result of the rapprochement agreed upon by the two countries. The visit is the expression of the great potential that exists in bilateral political and economic relations," the statement continued.

Albayrak and Steinitz will discuss energy cooperation between the two countries, according to the statement.

Within the framework of Steinitz's participation in the 23rd World Energy Congress, he will deliver the opening remarks for the Atlantic Council panel titled "A New Landscape in the Eastern Mediterranean."

The statement also read that after the meeting with Albayrak, Steinitz would hold a press conference.

Diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel were disrupted in May 2010 when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists on a humanitarian aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, heading for Gaza.

Turkey demanded a number of conditions -- an apology, the payment of compensation and the lifting of Israel’s Gaza blockade -- be fulfilled before the return of normal relations. Ankara now considers these terms as satisfactory.

Turkish and Israeli companies are discussing a possible gas pipeline between Israel and Turkey to transport natural gas supplies to Europe from the Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, which holds an estimated 620 billion cubic meters of gas.