AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON TURKEY'S NEW ENVIRONMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002614

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

ANKARA PASS TO ADANA
NEA FOR LAWSON
OES FOR SALZBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2017
TAGS: ENIV ENRG SENV TU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON TURKEY'S NEW ENVIRONMENT
MINISTER

Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: On October 9, Ambassador paid a courtesy
call on newly appointed Minister of Environment and Forestry
Veysel Eroglu. Previously, Eroglu served for four years as
the Director General of State Hydraulic Works. He continues
to be highly interested in water issues and hydro electricity
generation and less knowledgeable, if not less interested, in
broader environmental issues. Eroglu is a friend of the U.S.
and urged more U.S. private sector investment in Turkey and
more bilateral cooperation. With pride, he mentioned that
his daughter is on scholarship at Harvard University. End
summary.


2. (C) Eroglu lamented IMF budgetary restraints that have
tightly controlled Turkish Government public works spending
and have not allowed the Government to offer sovereign
guarantees on several hydroelectric projects under
construction. Eroglu discussed the status of nine
hydroelectric power plants which had been selected per a
U.S.-Turkish agreement for U.S. prime contractors to lead
international consortia in the design and engineering of
these projects (the so-called "Protocol Projects"). These
companies spent significant sums preparing engineering and
feasibility studies for the projects. A recently passed
Turkish law dictates that these projects must find private,
rather than GOT, financing. Responding to a concern raised
by the Ambassador that these American companies be able to
recoup costs already expended, Eroglu said he was interested
in continued American investment in Turkey and if U.S. firms
encountered any bureaucratic of other barriers, he stood
ready to assist.


3. (SBU) Eroglu expressed his Ministry's support for the
renewal of the bilateral Science and Technology Agreement.
The Ambassador agreed and said he hoped environmental
cooperation could be part of this agreement and noted we sent
the MFA our draft in March 2007. (Note: We understand that
the MFA may be withholding support for a technical reason.
Embassy will report more septel. End note.) Eroglu
mentioned that during a visit to the U.S. last year in his
capacity as the Director General of the State Hydraulic Works
(DSI),an exchange of technical staff between DSI and the
Army Corps of Engineers was agreed to. Eroglu asked for the
Ambassador's help in getting this program stated. The
Ambassador agreed and requested details so we could follow up.


4. (SBU) The Ambassador invited Ministry of Environment
participation in the upcoming Clean Energy Workshop that will
be sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Ministry
of Energy and Natural Resources and the American Turkish
Council and held in Istanbul, November 15-16. (Note: We
understand that Energy Secretary Bodman plans to attend. End
note.)


5. (SBU) Referring to Ankara's water shortage this summer,
Eroglu said the situation was unique and projects were
underway to prevent a reoccurrence of such shortages in
either Istanbul or Ankara. He said water supplies from the
Kizirilmak river would be available by the end of November.
He also said the Ministry will be conducting a feasibility
study on new water pipelines for Ankara and Istanbul. He
added that Istanbul will host the Fifth World Water Forum in

2009.


6. (C) Comment: When the Ambassador raised the Ministry's
participation in the Clean Energy Workshop or the potential
for environmental cooperation under the Science and
Technology agreement, Eroglu didn't pursue these topics nor
did he make any comments about a broader environmental agenda
for Turkey. Clearly his experience with water projects is
dominating his current agenda. We may need to educate,
rather than advocate, in order to gain his support on U.S.
environmental initiatives like climate change and renewable
energy. End comment.


Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON