On 23 April 2009, the Secretary General Amb. André Mernier met H.E. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. During their meeting, the Secretary General underlined the importance to the Energy Charter of Turkmenistan, which has signed and ratified the Energy Charter Treaty. Amb. Mernier noted the growing significance of Turkmenistan as an energy producer and congratulated the President on the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 19 December 2008 of the...
On 20 March 2009, Dr Neil Melvin, Senior Adviser to the Secretary General of the Energy Charter, participated in the Meeting of the Ministers of Energy of the Organisation of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Yerevan, Armenia. The meeting was devoted to the theme of "Energy Security in the Black Sea Region". The Energy Charter Secretariat has the status of observer to the BSEC, while BSEC is also an observer to the Energy Charter Conference. This has been the basis over several years for...
Ambassador André Mernier, the Secretary General of the Energy Charter Secretariat, attended the annual European Gas Conference – Flame, held on 10 March 2009 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Speaking to conference participants, he highlighted the unprecedented character of the Russian-Ukrainian energy dispute of 2009. The Secretary General noted that the crisis had confirmed the need to ensure the full functioning of legally binding multilateral agreements, such as the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT),...
The crisis between Ukraine and the Russian Federation has been the source for comment about the Energy Charter Treaty, its operation and pertinence to energy security. This demands a response.
On 21 January 2009, Vladimir Rakhmanin, Deputy Secretary General of the Energy Charter and Dr. Neil Melvin, Senior Adviser to the Secretary General, visited the International Energy Agency (IEA), within the framework of the close cooperation between the two institutions.
The Energy Charter Treaty provides a very important and useful tool which underpins the effectiveness of the Energy Charter Process and makes sure its evolution reflects new developments and challenges in international energy markets.
China became an observer to the Energy Charter Conference in 2001, and since then it has been involved in the Energy Charter Process. As part of this cooperation, a delegation from the Energy Charter Secretariat visited Beijing in December 2008. During the visit, the Energy Charter delegation held talks with officials from the National Energy Administration focused on strengthening cooperation between the Energy Charter Process and the government of China.
On 14 November 2008, the European Union (EU) and Russia held their 22nd Summit in Nice. Among the topics covered in the course of discussions were energy security and climate change concerns, especially in the context of the looming financial and economic crisis.
On the sidelines of the EU-Russia Summit, the 7th meeting of the "Club de Nice" Forum on the issue of "Energy and Geopolitics" was held. It was attended by industry representatives, top executives of national and international...
At the 2nd Kyiv Security Forum "Black-Caspian Sea Region and European Energy Security" on 6 November 2008, discussion focused on important energy security challenges facing countries in Europe and beyond, and on the more efficient ways of managing the interdependence between energy producers and consumers to the mutual benefit of all parties along the energy value chain.
The Secretary General André Mernier travelled to Amman and Damascus on 18-19 June to promote closer association between the countries in the Middle East and the Energy Charter Process. During his visit, Amb. Mernier has held several high-level meetings with representatives of the Jordanian and Syrian governments.
