10 April 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
A senior Turkish diplomat has been unanimously elected as the new chairman of the Energy Charter Conference, the Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Friday. Ambassador Selim Kuneralp, currently Turkey’s permanent envoy to the European Union, will replace Takekazu Kawamura of Japan, who has been the chairman of the conference since Jan. 1, 2007.
As an intergovernmental organization, the Energy Charter Conference is the governing and decision-making body for the Energy Charter process, and was established by the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty. There are 52 member-states and 24 observer countries to the Energy Charter Conference. Turkey became a member of the Energy Charter Conference on Dec. 17, 1994.
The Energy Charter Treaty aims to promote transparency and efficiency in the operation of energy markets but it is the responsibility of governments to define the structure of their national energy sector. The treaty includes an obligation on member countries to facilitate energy transit across their territory, in line with the principle of freedom of transit and an obligation to secure established transit flows. The Energy Charter Conference meets on a regular basis to discuss issues affecting energy cooperation among the Energy Charter Treaty members and to review the implementation of the treaty.
