This visit marks a significant landmark in regional energy cooperation, as Türkiye has actually begun to consider the export of electricity to Syria and Lebanon, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Wednesday. While speaking with reporters in Şanlıurfa in the southeastern provinces, Minister Bayraktar noted that there will be such attempts depending dependently on the current condition and capacity of the transmission networks in the two neighboring countries.
A Turkish delegation is now visiting Syria for examining the energy infrastructure in the country closely, and it is one of most critical steps towards understanding the actual picture of the country’s infrastructure capabilities that were in great part weakened by years of conflict. Electricity infrastructure before the war could install around 8,500 megawatts in power capacity, but the total now is hardly around 3,500 megawatts, leaving a huge gap in terms of the potential of the country in achieving internal energy demands. According to Minister Bayraktar, there is a heavy reliance on generators among the present population as an alternative to meet electricity needs.
As Turkey featured a strategic importance to the region it is has already been offering electricity and energy services to some areas in Syria. Such support is another sign of a continuous effort on the part of Türkiye to facilitate stability and the ability to sustain life in its neighbor. Importing the needed electricity from Türkiye is definitely within the potential of both Syria and Lebanon as confessed by Bayraktar.
“Of course, we will have it after we analyze the transmission grid,” Bayraktar also insisted that there would be a rational approach to identify major challenges as well as potential in today’s infrastructure. A detailed assessment is expected to help reveal how the situation could be dealt with to enable Türkiye to help in the closure of the power gaps that has an influence on the lives of Syrians and Lebanese on a daily basis.
The latest visit of the Turkish delegation that arrived in Syria on December 28 to assess the current condition and upgrade possibility of the power infrastructure of Syria is a strategic move. Such preliminary evaluation will create the basis for the subsequent mutually useful talks over the prospects for the countries’ cooperation and possible technical support.
In Şanlıurfa, Minister Bayraktar restated the efforts of Türkiye to support the Syrian country in its best use of indigenous reserves, and to urge the country to lead in its sustainability and self-reliance of the Syrian energy scene. This model proposes an intent not just for providing temporary relief, but also for laying a long-term framework for Syria to use its potential and resources wisely.
Potential export of electricity to Lebanon and Syria is also one of a range of regional cooperation measures being considered by Türkiye. Under the condition of chronic shortage of electricity in both countries, strengthened/stabilized by war and economic limitations, Turkish generated electricity creates an additional hope for relief.
Observers perceive this promising partnership as an opportunity to build further diplomatic links in the region combining humanitarian assistance and economic development. However, the effectiveness of such a program will very much depend on, the strategic restructuring of transmission networks and the political commitment throughout the network of collaborating on sustained dealings.
While Türkiye continues its assessments and discussions, the global community should observe the future course of events, closely. The provision of a stable and reliable power supply would allow a significant improvement in living standards and economic prospect for Syria and Lebanon, both being stages of a new era of hope for a continuously challenged region.
By these means, Türkiye is not only extending its agency and power as a regional player, but further strengthening its effort to promote peace, stability, and development in its surrounding countries. Thus, the ongoing assessment will be of considerable value in delineating the directions in which cross-border energy partnerships will emerge, thereby representing an important programmatic step toward integrated regional development.
