By Anadolu Agency
April 28, 2026 10:30 amRegional conflicts could trigger global energy crises, Türkiye’s energy and natural resources minister warned Tuesday, calling for international cooperation, transparent supply chains and shared responsibility.
“We cannot face today’s challenges in isolation. We need international cooperation, value-chain transparency, and shared responsibility,” Alparslan Bayraktar said, addressing the OECD Critical Minerals Forum in Istanbul.
Bayraktar described the current period as “one of the biggest if not the biggest energy crises of modern history.”
“The hot topic for every energy-related gathering these days is, of course, the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Bayraktar added. “These developments have huge impacts on oil and gas in various ways, but supply security and price volatility are the major ones.”
He said recent events have once again shown that regional conflicts quickly turn into global challenges.
“These affect the globe as a whole. But also, we know even without the recent wars and disruptions, there was already a rapid change in the global energy scene,” he added.
“As the world’s energy demand is growing, and we are officially entering the Age of AI or Age of Electricity,” he added.
The Turkish minister noted that supply chains have evolved from being purely economic concerns into strategic priorities requiring coordinated policy responses.
“We are in the right place, at the right time, to build stronger, more diversified supply chains,” he said, noting that energy and mining can serve as tools for cooperation.
Energy and mining projects need to be built on a “win-win” basis, aimed at building regional stability, improving welfare, and preventing conflict through cooperation, he said.
On critical minerals, Bayraktar highlighted structural imbalances in global markets, noting that production is geographically concentrated while processing and refining capacities are clustered in a limited number of regions.
“This imbalance creates structural vulnerabilities that go beyond market dynamics and directly affect economic security and industrial resilience,” he added. “That’s why we are actively engaging with technology-driven countries and leading corporations.”
“We want partnerships that go far beyond basic financing,” he said. “Technology transfer is an important part of this. Creating fair and transparent markets is a significant challenge.”
“Resilient supply chains are vital to our economic security. Yet, the markets for most critical minerals remain small and illiquid. They lack global, transparent pricing mechanisms. No single country should be allowed to use its volumetric dominance against a fragmented buyer base,” he stated.
Bayraktar said organizations such as the OECD play a key role in building trust in global markets, while forums like the one in Istanbul help turn dialogue into action.
“Türkiye is fully committed to this effort. We are at the right time as I’ve said. Today, mineral security is part of our national security. And national security is the bedrock of economic prosperity,” he added.
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