Ankara hosting intergovermental signing ceremony for Nabucco

Hosted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an intergovernmental signing ceremony for the Nabucco project, a planned major pipeline to carry Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey, will take place in Ankara today. Among the attendees of the ceremony are top representatives from the project's partner countries, including Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, Romanian President Traian Basescu, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, and Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai. Also set to attend are European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee head Richard Lugar, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, and energy ministers from Azerbaijan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Egypt. In total, delegations from 18 countries, including potential suppliers and countries that have declared their support for the project, are expected to attend the ceremony. Commenting on the project yesterday, Erdogan said it means Turkey will play a key role in transporting natural gas and petroleum from Asia to Europe. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said that Nabucco would strengthen mutual interdependence and bolster Turkey's importance. Calling the project critical for the diversification of European energy resources, he said it will cost a total of €7.8 billion, with €4.8 billion invested in Turkey, the biggest single direct investment ever in Turkey. The 3,300-kilometer pipeline will pass through five countries, with 2,000 kilometers of it going through Turkey, Yildiz said, adding that its construction will mean at least 5,000 jobs. He also said the signing of the intergovernmental agreement in Ankara carries significance for Turkey's European Union accession membership process as well, as it highlights Turkey's importance for the EU's natural gas needs. He added that Nabucco will promote peace and stability across a vast region. Construction of the pipeline will begin next year, and its first deliveries are expected to reach Europe in 2014.