Ashgabat’s hosting the International Energy Charter Forum “Towards a Multilateral Framework Agreement on Transit of Energy Resources” is an important step towards creating an instrument that would facilitate the groundwork of the global energy partnership that considers the interests of producers, transit parties and consumers of energy resources.
The Energy Charter has a leading role to play in shaping the effective and balanced model of cooperation in the global energy space. Reliability and security of international energy flows and legal protection of energy supply routes are of increasingly crucial importance. The need is obvious for developing generally acceptable, universal approaches to the problem, and clear and unchanging guidelines for the relationship between the suppliers, transit parties and consumers of energy resources.
Addressing the forum, the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, M. Babayev, reiterated our country’s commitment to the close collaboration with the Energy Charter partners under clearly defined principles, and primarily the principle of freedom of transit.
For Turkmenistan, as a supplier that holds the key position on the Central Asian crossroads of trade and transport routes and a country that initiates several major international and regional energy projects, energy security and stable transit of energy resources are strategic issues.
International cooperation in the sphere of energy is among priority issues for Turkmenistan that initiated two UN General Assembly resolutions named “Reliable and stable transit of energy and its role in ensuring sustainable development and international cooperation”. Turkmenistan promotes these initiatives in international organizations: the UN, the OSCE and the Energy Charter Conference of which the country has been a full-fledged member since 1997.
Turkmenistan’s chairmanship of the Energy Charter Conference in 2017 was announced at the 27th Conference held in Tokyo in November 2016. This confirms the increasing significance of the Central Asian countries in addressing the issues of global energy policy. During Turkmenistan’s chairmanship, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali entered the Energy Charter Conference.
Source : TDH