MOSCOW: The meeting of the Sub-Committee on Integrated Energy Market in Asia kicked off here yesterday with the participation of a delegation from the Kuwaiti National Assembly (parliament). Head of the delegation Member of Parliament (MP) Saleh Ashour said that the meeting would focus on energy and environmental issues. He said that the event is attended by parliamentary members from 10 countries, who will discuss ways to benefit from alternative energy, solve energy problems, and ensure the safety of tra
nsferring energy among Asian countries.The aim of the meeting is to prepare legislations on issues related to energy dangers and the reduction of the negative effects of energy consumption, and to prepare a clear policy to deal with countries that are lacking in energy resources, he noted.

He pointed out that there was a shortage in international legislations on benefitting from alternative energy, adding that it was important to find new legislations to deal with problems that could result from the transfer of energy and the leakage of radiations. He said Kuwait conducted studies on benefitting from solar energy and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, noting that countries like Jordan and Turkey used solar energy.

In a speech at the meeting, Ashour said that uniting the energy market in Asia was a good base for cooperation and Asian economic unity which could achieve a secure and a stable market. He said that Asia has 70 percent of the world's petroleum and gas reserves.

He called for finding new strategies to stress cooperation among producers and consumers, whether through the cooperation of governments or companies. He hailed the Russian document that was presented at the meeting held in Istanbul in 2009, which proposed setting a new legal framework for cooperation in the energy field.

On his part, Deputy Speaker of the Duma Valery Yazev at the meeting called for setting principles for cooperation in the field of energy, especially regarding the transfer of energy. Energy does not make people happy or rich, he said adding that the investment of energy resources usually created conflicts and poverty.

He said that humans used energy for wars, causing catastrophes. In 2008, natural disasters killed 225,000 people and harmed 211 million others, he said. The quake that hit Haiti in 2010 killed over 200,000 people, he noted. He called for cooperation in the field of early warning of natural disasters.

Yazev said that energy consumption will increase 1.5 times in 2035, and demanded dealing with energy shortage in many countries, encouraging investments in energy projects, and developing transportation networks among countries and continents to ensure safe transfer of energy. Beside Ashour, the Kuwaiti delegation to the meeting included MP Ali Al-Omair and Director of External Affairs Department at the National Assembly Jamal Al-Khamis. - Kuwait Times