MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Rex Tillerson and a positive agenda for Turkish-US ties MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Rex Tillerson and a positive agenda for Turkish-US ties

Donald Trump is giving signs at every opportunity that he will follow a very different line from the past U.S. presidents we have known until now, and that his management style will not be much different than that in his own real estate business.

December 19 2016
Losing a friend in the EU but gaining a better partner in Europe MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Losing a friend in the EU but gaining a better partner in Europe

Irrespective of what U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said during the Brexit campaign about Turkey perhaps not joining the EU for the next several decades, the U.K. has been historically a strong friend of Turkey bilaterally, in the transatlantic partnership and as a standard bearer within the EU for Turkey’s ambitions to join the bloc

July 10 2016
Proposal to create the East Mediterranean Energy Community MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Proposal to create the East Mediterranean Energy Community

After several weeks of consultations in various capitals from Ankara to Tel Aviv, Washington D.C. and Brussels, I believe that it is high time to propose a regional champion to advocate integration, partnerships, dispute settlement, data sharing, analysis and engagement with key stakeholders

November 23 2015
China’s One Belt and One Road – Quo Vadis MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

China’s One Belt and One Road – Quo Vadis?

China’s Silk Road initiative is a real game-changer, irrespective of whether it will succeed or not as planned, in realizing its ambitious one belt and one road project

October 26 2015
Energy: A new world challenge and a complex dilemma for Turkey MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Energy: A new world challenge and a complex dilemma for Turkey

The ongoing energy crisis, originating from the substantial and totally unexpected drop in the price of oil, is nothing like what we have seen before. The historic slide has roiled the energy sector, with fallout ranging from stalled oil and gas developments to bankruptcy filings and imbalances in consumer countries

March 01 2015
How to win to stay in – or march to – power MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

How to win to stay in – or march to – power

All eyes have been focused on the June 7 elections, which has the potential to be one of the most important turning points in Turkey’s political history

February 15 2015
2015: Neither a doomsday scenario nor a rosy picture on energy MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

2015: Neither a doomsday scenario nor a rosy picture on energy

The 2023 vision is of course very important in terms of serving as an “anchor” for government, business, civil society, international players and more importantly to us as individuals, as it provides a sense of the future direction and perspective.

January 01 2015
Are we going to create a new and powerful global energy body MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Are we going to create a new and powerful global energy body?

I was not surprised at all when reading the news leaked from the recent Brisbane meeting of the G20 Summit that the world’s top political leaders were seeking to lay the foundations for a new global energy body

December 01 2014
Privatization: Who will run Istanbul’s gas grid MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ

Privatization: Who will run Istanbul’s gas grid?

The coming tender to privatize the distribution of Istanbul’s gas to its 5.1 million customers should not be seen as a simple commercial transaction of “whoever pays the most in the bidding round will win the contract.”

November 14 2014