site.btaEnergy Minister Malinov Confers with Turkish Counterpart Bayraktar in Istanbul

The preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Bulgaria and Turkiye in the field of energy dominated the agenda of a meeting between Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov and his Turkish counterpart Alparlslan Bayraktar in Istanbul, Malinov’s ministry said on Wednesday.

The purpose of the document is to establish a framework for cooperation in the field of energy between Bulgaria and Turkey and to facilitate the exchange of technical knowledge, consultations, skills and experience in accordance with the national legislation of the countries. The project highlights electricity and gas connectivity together with renewable energy and energy efficiency as key areas of energy cooperation between the countries. The development of new electricity connectivity projects and the improvement of cross-border capacity, as well as encouraging private investors to implement such projects are among the main measures to deepen interconnections set out in the project. The two ministers agreed that the signing of the memorandum will help develop interconnections that support energy security in the region. At the invitation of Minister Malinov, the document will be signed in Sofia.

At the request of the Turkish side, Ministers Malinov and Bayraktar discussed the possibility for Bulgaria to provide additional water for irrigation of the region around Edirne due to prolonged drought and adverse weather conditions. In response, Minister Malinov expressed Sofia's readiness to host a meeting between delegations from the two countries to discuss the technical parameters.

Minister Malinov once again raised with his Turkish counterpart the issue of renegotiating the agreement between Bulgargaz EAD and the Turkish energy company BOTAS. The active negotiations on this topic will continue and representatives of BOTAS are scheduled to visit Bulgaria on August 15.

On April 19 2024, the National Assembly instructed the Energy Minister to take the necessary actions to renegotiate the agreement between Bulgargaz EAD and BOTAS.