Following his talks with visiting Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Maria Van Der Hoeven in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Guler said, “we will set up a working group to this end.” Guler also said he had discussed with Hoeven Turkey’s position on Nabucco project, adding that “Mrs. Minister has understood our position, and we think she will make significant contributions to speed up the project.”

The Nabucco pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline that will carry natural gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. It will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten, a major natural gas hub in Austria. The project is backed by the European Union and the United States. Also on the same project, Guler noted that Turkey had invited Josias Van Aartsen, EU’s coordinator for natural gas projects in Southern Europe, to discuss the matter. Hoeven, for her part, qualified Nabucco as a significant project, saying that Turkey and Europe should act together and find a solution to problems in order to implement the project. During their meeting, the two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding envisaging joint projects on renewable energy, energy efficiency and biomass. (Xinhuanet)