WEC to host ministerial summit in Cartagena

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.

“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.”

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.