By Bosphorus News Energy Desk
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar travelled to Damascus on Wednesday and signed a memorandum of understanding on phosphates with Syria's General Directorate of Geology and Mineral Resources, on behalf of Türkiye's General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) and its overseas arm, MTA International Mining Inc. (MTAIC). President Ahmed al-Sharaa received Bayraktar during the visit.
The memorandum covers exploration, licensing, extraction and end-product manufacturing in Syria's phosphate sector, with phosphoric acid and fertiliser production envisaged in later phases. Bayraktar said a commercial agreement would follow, covering phosphate field development, an industrial plant and a railway to move output to port. "Today's signing is the first step," he said.
Bayraktar also met Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir for bilateral and delegation-level talks covering electricity, mining, oil and gas, offshore drilling and energy transport. He said the Birecik-Aleppo transmission line enters service within weeks and will roughly triple Turkish electricity exports to Syria, reaching 800 to 900 megawatts. Turkish Petroleum and other Turkish companies are ready to work Syrian onshore and offshore acreage, he said, starting with seismic survey and moving to drilling, extending a push that has already taken Turkish energy firms into Somalia.
The visit came the same day Israel's Prime Minister's Office said Syria had come close to breaching a security understanding by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo, an account Damascus has denied.
Sources: Türkiye's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Bosphorus News review and reporting.