Turkmenistan’s vice president Boris Shikhmuradov will visit Israel and meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and government ministers.
The vice president of Turkmenistan, Boris Shikhmuradov, arrived in Israel today as a guest of the Merhav company, owned by businessman Yosef (Yossi) Miman. Sources close to Miman report the goal of the visit is "to examine the possibility Israel might be a customer for Turkmenistani natural gas, working with the Americans and the Russians to facilitate exports."
Turkmenistan has vast natural gas reserves but exports are limited as pipelines run only to former members of the Soviet Union. One possibility is gas exportation via Iran and Turkey, then on to Europe and Israel, but the US has vetoed all trade activity via Iran.
If gas importation from Turkmenistan to Israel is made possible, Merhav will be the project’s main partner. Merhav has invested $1.1 billion in Turkmenistan, and Miman himself has a close relationship with the country’s president.
"Globes" has also learned that Israeli businesses are examining the possible laying of a two-way underwater pipeline to import natural gas to Israel. The pipeline would link Israel, Egypt and Turkey and would join an overland pipeline delivering gas from Russia to Turkey.