Welcoming
address by the Minister of Energy, Mr. Yiorgos Lakkotrypis,
at the 24th Meeting of the Energy Charter Conference
at the 24th Meeting of the Energy Charter Conference
Mr. Secretary General,
Honourable Ministers,
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to Cyprus.
We are extremely proud to host this
year’s Energy Charter Conference and we feel honoured by your presence here, in
Nicosia.
The Energy Charter has come a long way
since the early nineties, when it emerged as a declaration of political will to
promote cooperation in energy, one of the most vital sectors for our economies
and for security and prosperity. Today, we look back at the last 15 years under
the Energy Charter Treaty, a legally binding multilateral instrument, and we
congratulate its contribution towards the security and promotion of energy
investments. Investments that bring energy across the borders and seas, between
the countries of Eurasia.
For Cyprus, a thus far isolated energy
market in the south east stretch of Europe, such investments are becoming
increasingly important. The European targets set for completing the internal
energy market and ending any energy isolation, pave the way for energy
interconnections with Europe and other nearby countries. Moreover, the recent
discoveries of oil and natural gas in our offshore waters, necessitate not only
the legal agreements with our neighbours, but also large scale infrastructure,
to sustainably exploit such large amounts of resources and deliver them for use
in the European and global markets.
For these reasons, a series of projects,
included in the European Commission’s list of Projects of Common Interest, is
currently on the way. The cluster of projects commercially known as “EuroAsia
Interconnector”, will connect the electricity markets of Israel, Cyprus and
Greece. In addition, a natural gas pipeline, linking our offshore platforms to
Greece through Cyprus, will serve as a direct, steady flow supply to the
European market.
And finally, an LNG Liquefaction
Terminal, in combination with the “Mediterranean Gas Storage” Project, will
enable us to supply natural gas to many terminals in Europe and worldwide.
As you can understand, protection and
promotion of investments in energy, is of the outmost importance. With the
increasing interdependence between the world’s energy exporting, transit and
importing countries, it is beyond doubt that legal frameworks such us the
Energy Charter Treaty, are crucial for creating a level playing field and medicating
investment risk in the energy sector. For us, it is also a medium for fostering
cooperation and relieving political tension.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Located in front of you is a small gift
that Cyprus would like to present you with; an emblem in silver pressed between
layers of glass. It is a representation of an ancient cargo ship, whose
wreckage was found at the bottom of the sea, just a few miles off the coast of
Kyrenia, our northernmost city. You see, Cyprus has always been a trading
centre for the region, stretching routes and relationships between Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and even further.
To the honourable Ministers, Deputy
Ministers and Secretaries General who are with us today, I’d like to present a
symbol of peace and prosperity; an olive branch cast in silver from a real
olive tree.
I would also like to offer a similar
gift to our Secretary General, Ambassador Urban Rusnak, for his efforts in
enhancing the Energy Charter. I wish him the best of success in his future
endeavours regarding the fostering of strong, healthy, multilateral energy cooperation, for the benefit of the Energy Charter’s
constituency and their citizens.
Dear friends,
On a closing note, I welcome you once
more to our capital Nicosia. Please take some time to discover the city, which
imprints the history of our country over thousands of years. I wish you all a
productive and fruitful conference and I hope that your stay in Cyprus is a
most pleasant one.
Thank you for your attention.
---------------------------
