MANAMA, The State of Kuwait will continue to play its role in resolving crises through peaceful means said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kuwait, Shaikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah at the three-day IISS Manama Dialogue 2022.
“The State of Kuwait is nestled in the very heart of a vital, resource rich region that has seen its fair share of instability,” said Shaikh Salem Al Sabah in his remarks at the Plenary session of the Manama Dialogue under the title: “The Changing Geopolitics of Energy”.
He said: “In this turbulent region and beyond, the State of Kuwait has long played its role in safeguarding regional and global political and energy stability. We have borne witness to the interconnectivity of markets, and the collective nature of security.”
Shaikh Salem Al Sabah expressed his gratitude to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the International Institute for Strategic Studies for hosting this important annual dialogue on the challenges confronting our region.
“The Changing Geopolitics of Energy”…The title of today’s session summons to mind both the immediate and longer-term challenges that confront us all: the intensifying war in Ukraine. Tensions and flashpoints in Asia, stalled negotiations in Vienna, deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan, a tenuous security situation in Yemen, Libya, Iraq and across our region.”
He said that ripples in Crimea lead to tsunamis in Cambridge and Connecticut.” No region is immune to the consequences of conflict and energy prices march forward to the beat of war drums.”
“It is precisely for this reason that de-escalation and dialogue are vita and, in this regard, the recent US-China Summit is a positive and welcomed development for global stability.”
Shaikh Salem Al Sabah said: “It is then incumbent on us to foster further dialogue that serves to abate the challenges we face together. The State of Kuwait will continue to play its role in resolving crises through peaceful means.”
He added: “In addition to the geopolitical events, we need to also consider two fundamental factors that exacerbate the energy security outlook: First, a looming recession, the writing has been on the wall, our experts and yours share similar assessments, which is what prompted collective action by oil producing nations to prepare ourselves, the investors, and consuming nations, for what the markets will bear in 2023.”
“Decisions of this nature are not political, they are existential. And secondly aggravated energy supply chains, there needs to be greater investment in both upstream and downstream operations by all,” he said adding that, “Aging and retired oil refineries will only limit our ability to place the guardrails that protect both producing and consuming nations.”
“On the affairs of energy security, one cannot overlook its grave implications on the climate,” he said, quoting His Majesty, King Charles III, one of the leaders who has long championed this cause, when he said: “Climate change poses an even greater existential threat to the extent that we have to put ourselves on what might be called a war-like footing”.
He said that there should be no doubt about it, climate change is a cross-border, inter-generational threat. Critical commitments were secured at the Paris Agreement and COP Summits, including Kuwait’s goal of carbon neutrality in the oil and gas sectors by 2050, with the aim of complete carbon neutrality by 2060, as pledged at the COP27 Summit hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt.
“Here, we meet at the nexus of Climate change, security, and prosperity. As our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have presciently warned many years back. We simply cannot focus on the climate aspect, without considering both the energy security and economic prosperity elements of these very delicately balanced scales.”
“The question was starkly posed as: Do we freeze in the dark today? Or burn under the sun in the creeping future? When addressing this, one ought to emphasize the fragility of the energy markets and energy transition. Its effects on the global economy and the implications on the less affluent nations and peoples and the consequent geostrategic threats.
Shaikh Salem Al Sabah said: “As energy markets brace for what is to come as conflicts intensify, and a global recession looms. As families gather this winter seeking warmth and comfort. Let us unite for it is through our friendships that we flourish and through our partnerships that we prosper.”
Source: Bahrain News Agency