ISTANBUL, July 12 -- Israel and Turkey are aiming to finalize a deal on piping Israeli natural gas to Turkey and Europe by the end of this year, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said here on Wednesday.

Addressing a session of the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, the Israeli minister said he had a "very constructive" meeting with his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak.

"We decided after four rounds of talks to accelerate our talks and try to conclude the government-to-government umbrella agreement that will enable the construction of Israel-Turkey pipeline before the end of this year," he was quoted as saying by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.

"We are making enormous efforts to conclude it," Steinitz said, adding Albayrak may visit Israel this year.

Turkish and Israeli companies are discussing the potential gas pipeline project that will send natural gas supplies to Europe from the Leviathan gas field off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean, Anadolu reported.

The two ministers first met in Istanbul in October last year on the sidelines of a world energy congress, as their countries were set to return ambassadors following a six-year hiatus to normalize ties damaged after Israeli forces launched a raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010 and killed 10 Turks.