Seminar on Energy Information System for Africa

Opening statement delivered by: HE Dr CHAKIB KHELIL
Minister of Energy and Mines
Chairman of the Conference of African Ministers of Energy

Algiers, 23 - 24 April 2003

Your Excellency,
Chairman of the Commission of the African Union,
Excellencies,
Messieurs the Ministers,
Ambassadors,
Representatives of African Countries,
Representatives of the International Organizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honor for Algeria to host this first AFREC meeting on Energy Information System. I would like, first of all, to welcome you here and wish you a pleasant stay in Algeria. This first seminar represents undoubtedly AFREC's first stride.

Now AFREC has its own head office that we shall officially inaugurate very soon; such an event turns into reality the organizational efforts aimed at allotting AFREC with operational and material conditions, a prerequisite for the starting phase of its activities.

It is also the illustration of Algeria's determination to fully comply with its commitments towards AFREC, since it has been chosen as a host country. . I have noted the important number of countries attending this seminar and I welcome the fact that a large number of decision makers are here along with experts from Africa and representatives of continental and International Organizations.

It proves, if need be, that efforts, made during the last decade have led to the establishment of AFREC, in this very hotel, exactly two years ago, were fruitful and illustrate the African determination to achieve the aims it has set out.

The large number and the high level of representatives gathering here today indicate that there is an increasing international interest for AFREC and its objectives that go beyond its continental limits. 1 It is also an indication of an increasing awareness concerning AFREC's challenges and objectives at stake. The theme selected for this first seminar certainly attracted interest and it underscores the relevance among the objectives assigned to AFREC, of the development of an Energy Integrated Information System as a priority.

Such a system, when in place, will enhance the regional and continental energetic integration and speed up access to modern types of energy for millions of African that are still lacking it.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The presence among us of so many International Organizations is in itself reassuring for an AFREC in its infancy as well as being comforting for Africa.

It is also an indication that Africa is not alone in its endeavor to overcome the alarming and taxing situation that adversely affects the African population, in terms of energy consumption, and of negative impact on environment.

AFREC can rely on all the human material and financial resources it needs to carry out its program; they are available on the continent and should be adequately tapped and developed.

AFREC should take advantage of the significant potential in international co-operation and contribute to an integrated development of African energy. The fact that a regional meeting of the World Energy Council devoted to Africa was convening in this Hotel yesterday is not a sheer coincidence. It shows the interest shown by WEC, represented by its Secretary General, Mr. Gerard Doucet .for AFREC.

The themes and content of yesterday's meeting are the best expression of the international will to effectively launch AFREC and achieve synergy when developing the African energy sector as supported and encouraged by the World Energy Council and the International Energy Agency.

There again one can see the potential for tapping into international co-operation especially when setting up the African Energy Information System.

AFREC is determined to cooperate with W E C by bringing in the experts making up the national African energy committees, members of WEC, to participate in its proceedings and contribute to achieving its goals.

The presence of Mr. William Ramsay, Deputy Director of the International Energy Agency at this opening session confirms the Agency's intended policy to open up to regions outside OECD and to strengthen co-operation with the countries in these regions and in particular those on the African continent.

This availability was once again reaffirmed yesterday during the WEC proceedings through the joint initiative between IEA and WEC to set up an Energy Integrated Information System for Africa.

AFREC appreciates this initiative and there is no doubt that our seminar will pay a particular attention to the presentation of the experience, its results, methodology and resulting recommendations.

This experience is a strong starting point in the development of fruitful relations between AFREC and IEA in the field of energy, which is one side of a wider cooperation developing between the African Union and the OECD.

The participants in this seminar will no doubt address this potential cooperation between IEA and AFREC and identify priorities.

AFREC's aspiration is to become a model in African energy information and play a role in international energy information exchanges thus giving Africa the rank due to it.

AFREC is obviously aware of the IEA's strategic role, a major benchmark in energy and the core of a worldwide energy information network.

AFREC is grateful to these organizations for their readiness to cooperate with it, and also for their outstanding efforts in clearing the ground for establishing an Energy Information System for Africa. Organizations supporting AFREC's actions, in particular the African ones, have often carried out research work and studies which are valuable to our Commission in its thinking process and activities.

AFREC must enter into agreements with those organizations in order to facilitate access of African experts to their researches and studies and assist them in adapting the findings and outcome to the Commission's needs.

AFREC's experts must benefit from these studies and analyze them from various angles of methodology, exploitation of results or recommendations.

Those organizations have an expertise in various fields related to the missions of AFREC. It is up to the latter and to these organizations to be imaginative and set in place the necessary connections ensuring transfer of expertise, skills and experience in view of achieving AFREC's program.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

AFREC should open up and co-operate with all actors of the African energy sector. We have in Africa numerous organizations and associations of national regional or international dimension, established in order to meet the various needs of a developing energy sector. Some of them are represented here at different level. AFREC as an incipient organization should benefit from the experiences and problems encountered by other organizations, and use their capabilities and advantages as starting point and supportive basis for its own development.

For its part, AFREC should rapidly set up an integration framework for the majority of those organizations who are willing to join efforts, share initiatives and projects.

The target of an Energy Integrated Information System for Africa meets a pressing requirement for the development of the energy sector in Africa.

The energy stakeholders in Africa who really need to develop such an integrated system are numerous and varied.

Among them, one can mention governmental bodies interested in energy or socio-economic development, state or private enterprises from the domestic energy sector, international corporations involved in this very field or supporting the development of activities in it.

Mention should also be made of the civil society organizations, which act throughout the energy chain.

These stakeholders, producers, circulators or consumers of energy information are not always happy with the related environment. They expect a lot from the development and integration of the energy information system that would be a highly commendable one, when in place. 4

In this respect, we can appreciate the importance of the theme selected for our seminar. It highlights the great number of stakeholders that can support AFREC in carrying out its projects.

Excellencies,

AFREC as an incipient body is looking for models and approaches to follow in order to establish itself on firm grounds and tackle the challenges that are still ahead and we know that the road is fraught with difficulties.

After several decades of efforts, the OLADE has become a benchmark for reflection and action in the field of the energy in Latin America.

AFREC pays a particular attention to OLADE's approach.

We are glad to note the presence in this seminar of high level representatives of OLADE in terms of expertise. This bodes well for a fruitful debate about the experience and achievements of Latin American countries.

Algiers will host early December 2003 a Conference of African and Latin American Ministers of Energy to discuss "experiences of development in Africa and Latin America in the field of Energy".

The convening of this conference should stimulate the activities of AFREC over the coming months and mobilize its potentialities politically and technically.

In this connection, time has come to further the cause of AFREC with the African political leadership and to translate it into a massive ratification by the African governments of the convention establishing the Commission.

The convening of this conference will no doubt have a catalytic effect on the cooperation between AFREC and OLADE.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The swift-moving access to clean fossil and renewable energies and to electricity is a major challenge to Africa, Latin America and the other regions of the developing world.

The basic obstacle in Africa and elsewhere is not always the availability of primary energy sources as illustrated by the vast hydro-electric potential and the considerable hydrocarbon and coal reserves in Africa.

The issue is to extensively develop the energy infrastructure and systems and integrate them at the national, sub-regional and regional levels. It is a prerequisite for eradicating under-development, marginalization and ensuing evils in the vast regions of the planet.

There is therefore a need for Africa and the other regions concerned in the world to try and cooperate and exchange their experiences.

AFREC would benefit from being more familiar with experiences of integration in Asia. In this respect, we have invited representatives of the dynamic Asian Pacific Energy Research Center (APEC).

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

AFREC is intended to be a tool at the service of the African Union development targets.

It is the forum that the AU wishes to selectively use to debate the energy future of the continent, and to draft and implement its energy policy and strategy.

Hence, the African Union has the duty to support politically and materially the Energy Commission and its program of action.

In return, AFREC is expected to live up to its responsibilities in promoting the energy sector in Africa which, as you all know, is the vector and catalyst of socio-economic development.

The hope of the African Union rests with the ability of AFREC to be instrumental in mobilizing the huge and varied potential bestowed on Africa for the benefit of development.

It relies on AFREC to draft and implement an efficient program capable of ending the unacceptable contradiction between the considerable energy potential available and the low level of energy consumption, which impacts on peoples' way of life and environment.

AFREC should implement an efficient strategy for Africa's renaissance as it the case since the establishment of the African Union and NEPAD plan of action.

NEPAD is a coherent program to serve the sustainable development of Africa. It is based on strategic approach including the energy factor and the fundamental goals of AFREC. One of AFREC's duties is to gain Africa's support for its program, especially in the field of energy and to become a tool for implementing and consolidating NEPAD. In this respect AFREC will have to join efforts with NEPAD promoters and help in creating a conducive environment to attract investments and the indispensable technologies. There are huge needs to be met and AFREC should be able to take up such daunting challenges. Among its specific tasks there is the pending implementation of institutional reforms and regulations to ensure the development and revamping of the energy sector.

AFREC 's role, in particular, is to effectively enhance compliance with NEPAD's principles such as good governance, transparency, accountability, reliability, security and equity. In the field of energy as elsewhere, compliance with those principles is necessary for confidence building among the main actors interested in Africa's ambitious partnership projects that are meant to eradicate definitely poverty and marginalization.

To mobilize funds, AFREC and NEPAD can rely on major international institutions that have stated their readiness to assist us in this common endeavor ; the presence amongst us of representatives from the African Development Bank and the World Bank is a clear illustration of it.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Algeria, strives to implement a new energy policy based on a coherent strategy and a unique principle that applies to national and international level as well.

Algeria works relentlessly to improve international relations through dialogue as it is its approach followed at OPEC, OPAEP OLADE the Forum of Gas Producing and Exporting Countries, and the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum. Algeria is trying to follow the same approach at the level of regional organizations: UPDEA, COMELEC, and APPA.

Its activities are aimed at enhancing institutional reforms at international level, and improving the quality of life of developing nations, to ensure dialogue among nations, stability and peaceful settlement of conflicts. The same applies to the domestic side of its energy policy, with reform-oriented actions, in order to take up the challenges of sustainable development.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Algeria has launched a reform program of the mines and energy sector. The success of this program is essential in order to meet the legitimate aspirations and to establish social and economic well being in Algeria. It is also a prerequisite if the objectives of NEPAD and AFREC are to be reached, as expected by the African Union, by partners from Africa and elsewhere.

It is on this determined and optimistic note about the future of African renaissance that officially opens the proceedings of our seminar; I wish you a very successful meeting.

Thank you for your kind attention.