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Singapore : International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, while speaking at the Singapore International Energy Week, which opened today. said the organization would like to see India and China join the grouping during its meet in Paris on November 17-18. Birol said – India is moving to the centre stage of international energy system but needs investments to move forward. We are hoping to see both Chinese and Indian ministers in that meeting as our special guests, which will hopefully strengthen the ties we have with those countries.

Mid November Paris meet has begun to raise energy hopes for countries like India, china and Russia. On 17-18 November 2015, Ministers from the 29 IEA member countries, nine partner countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, the Republic of South Africa and Thailand plus one candidate country for accession, Chile) and representatives from the African Union, the European Union, the Nuclear Energy Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have been invited to attend the 2015 IEA Ministerial Meeting in Paris. They will be joined by CEOs from the IEA Energy Business Council (EBC) representing top companies active in energy or closely related fields, to share views on key energy-related challenges and consider policy solutions. The Energy Secretary of the United States, Hon. Ernest Moniz, will chair the meeting. The theme of the 2015 IEA Ministerial, Innovation for a Clean, Secure Energy Future, will emphasise the importance of heightened co-operation among IEA member countries and key emerging economies as well as the business community.

On 1 September 2015, Fatih Birol took office as the new Executive Director, succeeding in this position Former Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Maria van der Hoeven. Birol applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives on energy and ‘Make in India,’ but highlighted the challenges in raising investments. He said, ‘India is moving to the centre stage of global energy system in terms of electricity, coal, renewables and oil. What India needs is three things in order to realise what Modi has in mind investment, investment and investment.

The IEA will release a special report on Indian energy sector in New Delhi on November 27. Birol said the report on India would be part of IEA’s annual country study for year 2015. The report would cover India’s current and future energy scenarios. Birol said, ‘We have looked at India very closely this year. I would commend three countries, mainly India, Indonesia and Malaysia (for their work on cutting oil subsidies). To cut subsidies is not an easy business. We now have low oil prices. Therefore, it gives a very good opportunity to cut the subsidy gradually.’

The world oil subsidies are averaging at USD 500 billion a year, four times of those for the development of renewables, according to Birol who urged governments to lend strong support in setting up renewable energies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous inter governmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis. The IEA was initially dedicated to responding to physical disruptions in the supply of oil, as well as serving as an information source on statistics about the international oil market and other energy sectors.

The IEA acts as a policy adviser to its member states, but also works with non-member countries, especially China, India, and Russia. The Agency’s mandate has broadened to focus on the “3Es” of effectual energy policy: energy security, economic development, and environmental protection. The IEA has a broad role in promoting alternate energy sources (including renewable energy), rational energy policies, and multinational energy technology co-operation.

IEA member countries are required to maintain total oil stock levels equivalent to at least 90 days of the previous year’s net imports. At the end of July 2009, IEA member countries held a combined stockpile of almost 4.3 billion barrels (680,000,000 m3) of oil.