Energy Charter, Arab League sign MoU

The Energy Charter Secretariat and the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States signed here Monday night a Memorandum of Understanding on issues concerning energy cooperation between the two organisations. "Economic activity needs stability, and stability is based upon better understanding and closer cooperation. That is precisely what we intend to achieve through implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding," Energy Charter Secretariat Secretary General, Urban Rusnak stated in his speech at the signing ceremony. The Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Dr. Nabil El Arabi, welcomed this new phase in the cooperation between the two organisations. He stressed "that energy was the motor of economic development and that the Arab League and the Energy Charter worked for the common goal of optimal future energy use." The signed MoU focuses on joint activities for the development of regional and intra-regional energy trade, energy efficiency and renewable energy policies, regional electricity markets, knowledge exchange and technical cooperation, and on encouraging investment in the energy sector. The fundamental aim of the Brussels-based Energy Charter Treaty is to strengthen the rule of law on energy issues, by creating a set of rules to be observed by all participating governments, thereby reducing risks associated with energy-related investment and trade.