Iran and Turkey have agreed to start negotiations on a new gas exports deal that will allow increased supply of natural gas from Iran to Turkey for a period of 25 years starting in 2026.
A Tuesday report by the Iranian Presidency Office said talks on a new Iran-Turkey gas supply deal had started based on agreements reached between Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting held earlier in the day in Tehran.
“It was agreed in this regard that a renewal of the contract for exports of Iran’s gas to Turkey for 25 years and an increase in the amount of exports would be on the agenda of the two sides and negotiations (on the issue) started after that,” said the report.
It added that the Iran had declared its readiness to provide Turkey with a stable supply of energy through its natural gas exports.
Iran has been supplying around 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey under a 25-year agreement that was signed in 2001.
However, Turkey has been asking for increased supplies due to a rising demand for energy in the country’s household and manufacturing sectors.
Ankara has submitted similar requests to Russia and Azerbaijan, the two other gas suppliers to Turkey, while it is investing billions of dollars to develop a gas filed found in the Black Sea in 2020.
The agreement to start talks on a new gas supply deal on Tuesday came after Iran and Turkey signed eight memoranda of understanding to expand their cooperation in economic, cultural and political fields.