Dr Rusnák was invited to join a working dinner hosted by Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. Fumio Kishida, the Chairman of the Energy Charter Conference, where the topic was Africa’s economic development and the role of international organisations. In the margins of the event, the Secretary General also met with the Chairman of Japan’s Business Federation Keindanren, Dr Sadayuki Sakakibara, to discuss the role of the Energy Charter Treaty in protecting Japanese energy investment abroad. He also spoke with Mr Mitsunari Okamoto, the Director of Foreign Committee of National Diet of Japan and expressed support for the spirit of the event and the cooperation between Japan, the International Energy Charter and Africa.
Secretary General's speech
Excellencies,
Thank you very much for giving the floor to the International Energy Charter. Before I start my intervention I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Government of Japan and its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Government of Kenya and President Uhuru Kenyatta for inviting the International Energy Charter to the TICAD VI summit in Nairobi.
Even if energy is not among the key themes of this year conference - Economic transformation, industrialisation, health and social stability - all of you present, know that there is an underlying element linking and enabling the implementation of all those priorities. That is the element of Energy.
The International Energy Charter is chaired by Japan this year but this is not the only reason why the International Energy Charter is present here. As we speak today here in Nairobi, six African nations are in the accession process to the Energy Charter Treaty. We are working hand in hand with governments of Mauritania, Swaziland, Niger, Burundi, Chad and Morocco to help them to align with the golden international standards and rules for energy investment, trade regulations and energy efficiency. Moreover Uganda, Tanzania, Benin and the ECOWAS are observers to our organisation. Some other African countries and regional organisations are approaching us with requests to become Observers.
The International Energy Charter stands ready to assist all African countries interested in the development of a stable and predictable energy investment climate. We are committed to our mission to strengthen rule of law in international energy cooperation with full respect to sovereignty over natural resources and to the energy mix chosen by each and every one of our members and observers. We are looking towards the 27th Meeting of the International Energy Charter Conference to be held in Tokyo in November 2016 under the leadership of H E Fumio Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan and chairman of the Conference. The Energy Charter is ready and willing to complement the efforts of TICAD VI in the years to come.
