A delegation from the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry headed to Syria to identify infrastructure, energy and electricity needs after the fall of Bashar Assad, a top official said on Saturday.
"A team from our Energy Ministry is on the way to Damascus," Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the central Anatolian province of Nevşehir.
"We will identify Syria's infrastructure, energy and electricity needs and will do our best to ensure (Syrians) benefit from these essential services again with short, medium and long-term planning," he said.
Türkiye is home to nearly 3 million refugees who fled Syria after the start of the civil war in 2011. Assad's fall has raised expectations that many will go back.
At the same time, Türkiye has emerged as one of the main power brokers in its southern neighbor and has vowed to help rebuild the country.
The minister said there was a lot to do in the war-torn country. "It is very important to get Syria back on its feet," Bayraktar said.
Earlier on Friday, the minister highlighted the plans to help Syria in terms of electricity needs.
"We must very rapidly provide electricity to parts of Syria that do not have electricity, with imports in the initial phase," he was cited as telling a meeting with Turkish media representatives.
"In the medium-term, we also plan to increase the set electricity power and the production capacity there," the minister added.
Moreover, speaking in Nevşehir, Bayraktar touched upon the natural gas production in the Sakarya field and oil output in the southeastern province of Şırnak.
"Today, production in Gabar has exceeded 70,000 barrels," he said.
"We are hopeful for Gabar. No matter what anyone says, in Gabar, we will work until the end, and God willing, we will try to increase these 70,000 barrels to 100,000 barrels even further," Bayraktar said.
Also pointing to growing energy needs and imports, the minister reiterated the aim to curb energy dependence while highlighting the importance of nuclear energy.
“Knowing and believing that nuclear is indispensable for Türkiye, we are now bringing this 70-year dream to life in Akkuyu, Mersin," he said.
