Iraq and Turkmenistan move forward on gas import agreement

BAGHDAD, October 7 — Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani announced on Saturday that an Iraqi delegation is scheduled to travel to Turkmenistan by the end of this month to sign gas import contracts.

This announcement came during his meeting with Turkmenistan’s State Minister for Gas Affairs, Mr. Maksat Babayev, and his accompanying delegation in Baghdad.

A statement from Al-Sudani’s office, received by Network 964, reads:

“Prime Minister Mr. Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani commends the preliminary agreement to import gas from Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them, as well as expanding cooperation in the energy and gas sector. This cooperation was formalized through the signing of a joint memorandum of understanding to import Turkmen gas into Iraq, addressing the needs of production stations and the electrical grid.

Mr. Al-Sudani expressed his approval of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Ministry of Electricity and the Turkmenistan Gas Ministry for gas supply. It is planned that an Iraqi delegation will travel to Turkmenistan on the 25th of this month to finalize the contracts.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the government has given significant attention to the energy sector in Iraq, making it a top priority for economic development and diversification. He explained that Iraq possesses abundant gas resources but needs time to optimize their utilization, which has been delayed for several years. Importing Turkmen gas aligns with the government’s vision and strategy to diversify gas import sources and energy sources to ensure the continuity of electricity generation.

On his part, Mr. Babayev conveyed the greetings of Turkmenistan’s President to Prime Minister Al-Sudani and expressed his country’s desire to enhance mutual cooperation between Iraq and Turkmenistan in various fields, contributing to the development of bilateral relations and serving the interests of both nations.”