IEA Calls on Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan to Make Long-term Choices

Eleven countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia share the same approach to development - they just focus on short to medium policies with no long-term vision, wrote the International Energy Agency (IEA) on its report released on Monday.

‘The 11 countries … are diverse politically and economically with distinct energy sector challenges. However, lack of long-term vision and planning is common across the region, and the countries must prioritise strategic energy policy development in order to build a more secure and sustainable future’ reads the note, referring to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Four of these countries - Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan - hold significant oil and gas resources. This area is under the spotlight given Europe’s interest to secure alternatives to Russia.

“Isolation and rigid thinking are not in the region’s long-term best interest. The key ingredients for a sustainable energy sector in all of these countries are co-operation and evidence-based strategic planning,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said, commenting the result of the study. 

As explained by the organisation, the European Union provided financial assistance for the report.

The IEA called for stronger rule of law, increased conventional and unconventional production, energy market liberalisation.