NATO Secretary General welcomes cooperation with the International Energy Agency
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Fatih Birol, Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to NATO on Tuesday (24 February 2015). Dr. Birol has just been named the next Executive Director of IEA.
“Energy is a key driver of international security. It is important for NATO to keep abreast of all relevant developments in this area. NATO-IEA cooperation has been intensifying over the past years and should be deepened further,” the NATO Secretary General said.
During his visit, Dr. Birol briefed NATO Permanent Representatives on global energy developments, together with Ms. Robin Dunnigan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy at the US State Department, and Mr. Brendan Devlin, Adviser in the Directorate General Energy of the European Commission. The discussion ranged from the implications of the low oil price to the role of energy in hybrid conflicts.
NATO and IEA have developed strong ties. Dr. Birol has regularly briefed at NATO Hq. IEA experts participate in NATO’s annual “Roundtable on Energy Security”. And NATO officials take part in the IEA’s annual emergency response exercises and other events related to energy security.
The International Energy Agency is an autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is based in Paris. It consists of 29 member countries and works with non member countries, including China and India. The IEA enjoys a strong reputation as it actively promotes global dialogue on energy and provides authoritative energy statistics, analyses and recommendations.