Energy Charter Conference in Kazakhstan
Speech given by the British Ambassador to Kazakhstan on November 27. This is an English transcript of the speech.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the pleasure to read out a message from UK Minister for Energy Matthew Hancock:
I would like to express the the gratitude of Her Majesty’s Government to Minister Karabalin and to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for hosting this Conference. I wish your discussions every success.
Despite the recent picture of a well-supplied oil market, we should be in no doubt as to the significant global energy security challenges that we face against a backdrop of rapidly rising energy demand and the need to grow our energy systems in a way that is compatible with the challenges of climate change.
International co-operation is and will remain an important part of efforts to address these and other challenges, and we very much welcome the opportunity this conference allows us to share views on the important topic of international energy transit corridors, and to take stock of progress and priorities more generally for the Energy Charter process.
End of message from Minister Matthew Hancock.
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the UK delegation to this Conference, I would like to add the following points:
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The UK values the Energy Charter Treaty for its core remit of promoting transparent rules for trade and secure transit of energy resources. We also value its work in promoting the protection of investments. There are many institutions active in the energy arena. So it is important that they focus on the unique value which each has to contribute, in order to avoid unhelpful overlap and duplication.
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We acknowledge that there may be different aspects of the Energy Charter Treaty which are more or less valuable for different member countries, and the need to reflect this in the work of the Secretariat. But a balance must be found so that priority attention goes to what is achievable in the constrained financial climate.
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We welcome the 2014 Review in this regard. We welcome that is has set out priorities for the work of the Secretariat for the years ahead. We particularly welcome the further review of the value added by in-depth expert reports. And we particularly welcome the achievements and renewed focus of the policy of Consolidation, Expansion and Outreach.
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We are sure that expanding the membership of the Energy Charter Treaty will remain a priority of the constituency. So, as a consequence, we welcome the planned signing of the Updated Energy Charter in the Hague in 2015 as a first step towards this goal for many nations.
In conclusion, we look forward to our continued co-operation on these important issues over the coming year.