The EU Commission said that a Turkish delegation led by Energy Ministry deputy undersecretary Yusuf Yazar, the European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU President, Slovenia's economy minister, and energy ministers of Arabian countries, who convened in Brussels, agreed on the participation of Turkey and Iraq in the Europe-Arabian Mashreq natural gas cooperation. Ms Ferrero-Waldner said: "The Mashreq countries, [along with] Turkey and Iraq, are key energy partners for the EU, and it is important that we fully exploit the potential of our now well-established co-operation. "The Arab gas pipeline is set to be finalized by the end of the year, opening important possibilities as a new transport route for gas to the EU, particularly for the Nabucco project. This is just one example of how we are working together to integrate our energy markets in our mutual interest," Ms Ferrero-Waldner added. The Arab Gas Pipeline currently runs from Egypt through Jordan to Syria and has a capacity of 10bn cum/yr. The pipeline, which will be interconnected with Turkey and Iraq by 2009, will provide a new transport route for gas resources from the Mashreq region to the EU. It is expected that, in the future, the pipeline will be connected with the Nabucco project, over which Turkey and the EU have as yet failed to reach an agreement. The 3280-km long Nabucco pipeline, with a planned maximum capacity of 31bn cum/yr, is planned for construction in 2010 and is aimed at reducing the EU's dependence on Russian supplies, and is estimated to cost around $5.8 billion.