Türkiye and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on phosphate resources, setting out a framework for a possible joint project covering production, field development and transport infrastructure.
The agreement was signed in Damascus by MTA International Company (MTAIC), an affiliate of Türkiye’s General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, and Syria’s General Establishment of Geology and Mineral Resources.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the next step would be to turn the framework into a commercial agreement. The proposed project could include developing phosphate fields and building a railway linking production areas to a port.
The two sides also plan to examine ways to develop iron ore deposits near Aleppo. Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said further cooperation could cover the construction of sulfuric and phosphoric acid plants and the rehabilitation of equipment used to transport phosphate.
Bayraktar said Turkish companies were working on electricity generation and transmission projects in Syria and would continue investing in the country’s energy infrastructure.
Al-Bashir said the Birecik-Aleppo electricity interconnection was scheduled to enter service by the end of September and would deliver about 500 megawatts to Aleppo and surrounding areas. Bayraktar said the line would roughly triple Türkiye’s electricity exports to Syria to between 800 and 900 megawatts.
Bayraktar also said state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation and other companies were ready to conduct seismic surveys and exploration drilling in Syrian offshore and onshore fields.
