Türkiye and Germany aim to strengthen cooperation in energy and critical minerals as energy security concerns grow, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.
Speaking after the 7th Turkish-German Energy Forum in Ankara, Bayraktar said developments around the Strait of Hormuz had made the importance of international cooperation in energy security more visible.
“In this process, which has become much more visible with the Hormuz crisis and affects the economy of the whole world, cooperation is important,” Bayraktar said at a joint press conference with Germany’s Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche.
Bayraktar said Türkiye’s growing energy market and infrastructure investments contribute not only to its own supply security but also to Europe’s energy security.
He said Türkiye wanted to deepen cooperation with the German government and German companies, particularly in financing, infrastructure and critical minerals.
Bayraktar said Türkiye has significant mineral diversity and that critical minerals are becoming increasingly important for the energy transition.
For this reason, the Turkish-German Energy Forum has been expanded to cover cooperation in both energy and minerals, he said.
Reiche said energy security had become not only an economic issue but also a geopolitical one.
She said Türkiye plays a central role in Europe’s energy supply security and that developments around the Strait of Hormuz had again shown the need to diversify dependencies and invest in common infrastructure.
Reiche also pointed to the importance of renewable energy investments and said Turkish-German cooperation in this area carried strategic value.
Türkiye is accelerating renewable energy investments while also developing its natural gas resources, Reiche said, adding that the country is moving toward becoming a regional energy hub.
She said around 10 percent of the European Union’s natural gas imports pass through Türkiye.
Reiche added that critical minerals are becoming more important in the energy transition and that the Turkish-German Energy Partnership and Energy Forum had been updated to reflect this wider scope.
