Statement from IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven on enhanced IEA co-operation with emerging economies

International Energy Agency Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven issued the following statement today regarding the IEA’s co-operation with emerging economies:

As the global energy map is redrawn, the IEA’s 28 member countries face many of the same energy challenges as key emerging economies, and we share a common interest in building a secure, sustainable energy future. This is why the IEA attaches such high importance to working with key emerging economies outside our membership like Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.

For a number of years, we have been enjoying mutually beneficial bilateral co-operation with these countries, whether it is through exchanging data, collaborating on technology roadmaps, reviewing emergency preparedness, or other activities. It’s also worth noting that all of these countries attended the last IEA Ministerial meeting in 2011, and all are invited to attend the next one, scheduled for November 2013. As these countries play a growing role in global energy markets, we would expect this interaction and co-operation to continue to grow.

As Executive Director, I have visited many of these countries and spoken with government officials about ways in which we can work more closely together – as did my predecessors. Indeed, for more than 10 years, the IEA has looked at ways in which to deepen its partnership with these countries. “Association” is the latest term to describe this initiative. While there is a genuine interest from the IEA member countries and the potential associated countries to deepen our existing partnership, I must stress that we are in an early phase of discussions at this point: No decisions have been made – either by the 28 member countries, or the partner countries themselves. All will be instrumental in shaping the final outcome.

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About the IEA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous organisation which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond. Founded in response to the 1973/4 oil crisis, the IEA’s initial role was to help countries co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in oil supply through the release of emergency oil stocks to the markets. While this continues to be a key aspect of its work, the IEA has evolved and expanded. It is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing reliable and unbiased research, statistics, analysis and recommendations.