World Energy Council to host ministerial summit in Cartagena with the President of Colombia
25 ministers to gather in Colombia to discuss the energy trilemma and Latin American energy issues
23 September 2014, Bogota and London – Twenty-five ministers from 23 countries will be gathering at the World Energy Council’s (WEC) World Energy Leaders’ Summit in Cartagena, Colombia on 23 October to hold talks over the future of energy in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
The Summit, to be co-hosted and attended by President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, will welcome energy ministers and energy department officials from Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
Ministers from Algeria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Russia, the UAE, and the USA will also join the talks.
The ministers will be meeting at a private Ministerial Roundtable within the WEC’s World Energy Leaders’ Summit to address the triple challenge of the energy trilemma. At the wider Summit they will be joined by over 100 chief executives and head of organisations from the region and beyond for closed-door discussions over the region’s energy future.
Regional integration, energy-water-food nexus, and decentralised energy will be among the top issues in their discussion agenda.
President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, in a video welcome message, commented: “Colombia is very honoured and very proud to have Cartagena as the venue for one of the major events of the world’s energy sector. Cartagena will be the meeting place for government leaders, as well as some of the world’s most important energy companies.”
Christoph Frei, Secretary General of the World Energy Council, commented: “The Latin America and Caribbean is a region of enormous energy wealth, yet there is also significant untapped potential due to the lack of strong regional integration infrastructure. At our Cartagena Summit we will look at the region’s top energy issues and ask how countries can best balance the energy trilemma and provide secure, affordable, and environmentally sustainable energy for their people. I look forward to a sharing of latest insights and best practices.”
Ecopetrol, Pemex, EDF, E.ON, Russian Grids, CAF, Alstom, Glencore, Enel, Fluor, Siemens, and Eletrobras will be among the organisations sending senior leadership representation to the Summit.
José Antonio Vargas Lleras, WEC Vice-Chair for Latin America and the Caribbean, said: “Jointed-up engagement from both governments and businesses is absolutely necessary in order to achieve viable energy systems for the region’s prosperity and growth. Our Cartagena Summit will provide the very necessary platform for such engaged dialogue.”
The WEC’s World Energy Leaders’ Summit gathers the WEC’s community of global energy leaders twice every year for a high-level dialogue on the critical issues affecting the energy world.
WEC Chair, Mrs Marie-José Nadeau, will co-host the Cartagena event with the Colombian President. The Cartagena Summit will be held as part of the WEC’s annual Executive Assembly gathering the leadership of the organisation.
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President Juan Manuel Santos' welcome message can viewed towards the end of this video here.
Media contacts:
Global:
Monique Tsang / tsang@worldenergy.org / Tel: +44 20 3214 0616
Latin America:
Ana Bateman / anabateman@estrategiasasociadas.co / Tel: +57 1 5409194 ext. 104
Notes to Editors
About the World Energy Council
The World Energy Council (WEC) is the principal impartial network of leaders and practitioners promoting an affordable, stable and environmentally sensitive energy system for the greatest benefit of all.
Formed in 1923, WEC is the UN-accredited global energy body, representing the entire energy spectrum, with more than 3000 member organisations located in over 90 countries and drawn from governments, private and state corporations, academia, NGOs and energy-related stakeholders.
WEC informs global, regional and national energy strategies by hosting high-level events, publishing authoritative studies, and working through its extensive member network to facilitate the world’s energy policy dialogue.
Further details at www.worldenergy.org and @WECouncil
World Energy Leaders’ Summit (WELS)
The World Energy Leaders’ Summit is organised twice a year by the World Energy Council (WEC) for its community of global energy leaders to engage in a high-level dialogue on the critical issues affecting the energy world.
WELS is generally held in countries critical to world energy interests. Participation is by invitation only and is exclusively for the WEC’s Patron and Global Partner CEOs, a select number of energy ministers, the WEC’s Officers and Chairs of National Member Committees, and select guests and experts.
The World Energy Leaders’ Summit in Colombia is co-hosted by Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, and is organised in partnership with the WEC’s national member committee in Colombia, COCME.
The ministers and government representatives at the Cartagena summit will include:
- Ahmed Messili, Secretary General, Ministry of Energy, Government of Algeria
- Marcos Zandomeni, Minister of Energy, Mendoza Province, Government of Argentina
- Monowar Islam, Secretary, Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Government of Bangladesh
- Audrey Joy Grant, Minister of Energy, Science and Public Utilities, Government of Belize
- Colin Young, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Energy, Science and Public Utilities, Government of Belize
- Juan José Hernando Sosa, Minister of Energy, Government of Bolivia
- Edison Lobão, Minister of Energy, Government of Brazil
- Máximo Pacheco, Minister of Energy, Government of Chile
- Tomás González, Minister of Mines and Energy, Government of Colombia
- Pelegrín Castillo Semán, Minister of Energy and Mining, Government of Dominican Republic
- Esteban Albornoz Vintimilla, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Government of Ecuador
- Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Government of Ethiopia
- Erick Estuardo Archila Dehesa, Minister of Energy and Mining, Government of Guatemala
- René Jean-Jumeau, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in Charge of Energy Security, Government of Haiti
- José Antonio Galdames, State Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Government of Honduras
- Francisco Barnes, Commissioner, Energy Regulatory Commission, Mexico
- Eli Jidere Bala, Director General and CEO, Energy Commission of Nigeria
- Victor Carlos Urrutia, National Energy Secretary, Government of Panama
- Eleodoro Mayorga Alba, Minister of Energy and Mining, Government of Peru
- Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy, Government of the Russian Federation
- Kevin C. Ramnarine, Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs, Government of Trinidad and Tobago
- Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, Government of UAE
- Matar Al Neyadi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy, Government of UAE
- Thani Al Zeyoudi, Director, Directorate of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of UAE
- Mendez Ramón, National Director of Energy, Government of Uruguay
- Christopher A. Smith, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Department of Energy, Government of the USA
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