site.btaEnergy Minister Petkova Confers with Energy Charter Secretary General Rusnak

Energy Minister Petkova Confers with Energy Charter Secretary General Rusnak 

The Hague, May 20 (BTA) - Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova
conferred here on Wednesday with the Secretary General of the
Energy Charter, Urban Rusnak, the Energy Ministry said in a
press release.

The meeting was held as part of the Ministerial Conference,
hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of The Netherlands,
where representatives of over 90 countries have gathered to sign
 the new International Energy Charter.

The Bulgarian Government supports the Energy Charter's goals and
 principles, Petkova underscored. According to Rusnak, the
upcoming signing of the International Energy Charter, which will
 build upon the 1991 Energy Charter, is a strategic step forward
 for the development of international cooperation in energy
matters. All countries are currently facing huge challenges and
one of them is the diversification of the sources and routes for
 the supply of natural gas. This is why the Bulgarian Government
 has placed priority on dealing with the dependency on just one
natural gas supplier, Petkova said. According to her,
guaranteeing the natural gas supply is an inseparable part of
Bulgaria's national security.

The Bulgarian Energy Minister familiarized Rusnak with the
progress made on the construction of natural gas interconnectors
 with neighbouring countries, as a primary measure for achieving
 long-term diversification. According to the Energy Charter's
Secretary General, this is one of the goals behind the
international agreement. One of the International Energy
Charter's roles is to ensure continuity of the connections
between countries, so as to avoid natural gas supply
disruptions.

Rusnak welcomed the Bulgarian Government's work on diversifying
routes and sources. He stressed the importance of closely
working with Bulgarian experts when all procedural matters are
prepared after the document's signing. Being an EU Member State,
 Bulgaria's position of key importance, Rusnak said. Minister
Petkova assured Rusnak that the Bulgarian experts will actively
work in the groups part of the International Energy Charter,
which will start detailing the documents on Thursday.

The two also discussed opportunities for lawyers from the
Charter to provide assistance in resolving disputes between the
State and investors with the purpose of reducing expenses.

The International Energy Charter is a declaration of political
intention aiming at strengthening energy cooperation between the
 signatory states and which does not bear any legally binding
obligation or financial commitment. It maps out common
principles for international cooperation (and common areas of
cooperation) in the field of energy.