Press Conference of the APA's Secretary General
January 15 , 2008

Secretary-General of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly announced the formation of a committee comprising of Asia’s large producing and consuming countries of Asia to study the establishment of an organization for energy cooperation in Asia.

In a press and radio-TV conference which was held at the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of Asian Parliamentary Assembly on 15 January 2008 and attended by Iranian as well as foreign correspondents, Dr. Nejad Hosseinian explained the achievements of the Second Plenary Session of the Assembly and the Secretariat's plans for the realization of the adopted resolutions.

Pointing to the importance of the topic of energy, he said: "In one of the resolutions, members of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly have requested the Secretary-General to propose a structure for enhancing cooperation in the energy sector as well as planning and forming an integrated energy market in Asia."

“The purpose of the creation of this structure is to guarantee the sustainability and predictability of the supply and demand of energy market” he said. Dr. Nejad Hosseinian added: "By establishing an institution for energy cooperation in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, the energy security of this continent will be ensured and the interests of producers and consumers of energy will be protected."

"Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, and Kuwait have declared their desire to participate in the committee and the formation of the said organization”
He added "considering that Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia posses about 50 percent of the world's oil production, it can be said that by integration of these countries in the field of energy, many benefits would be reaped."

He anticipated that by formation of the organization for energy cooperation in Asia, many contract related disputes among the Asian countries would be avoided.