India and IEA enhance cooperation

The agreement was signed during a virtual ceremony by Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai of India's Ministry of Power and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, who described the development as "historic" for the IEA and for international energy governance. "We are taking our relationship with India - one of the world's largest economic powerhouses, to a new higher level," he said. India is centre stage in the global energy sector, and its importance will be reflected in a forthcoming IEA India Energy Outlook which is to be published in a few weeks' time, he added.

The IEA is an autonomous inter-governmental organisation within the OECD framework with a mission to work with governments and industry to shape a secure and sustainable energy future for all. Founded in 1974 - initially to help co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in oil supplies - the agency says it takes an all-fuels, all-technology approach to recommend policies that enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy.

Since 2015, the IEA has opened its doors to major emerging countries to expand its global impact. India became a partner country of the IEA in 2013 and adopted association status in 2017.

Under the Framework for Strategic Partnership, India will hold consultations with the IEA on enhancing energy security and will seek substantive cooperation across the full spectrum of IEA activities, with particular emphasis on energy data sharing and analysis, Sahai said.

"The world is gradually shifting towards sustainable and clean energy," he said. "India stands at the forefront of this global transition. Intensive collaboration with the IEA's members will help us accelerate our transition towards clean energy." The Strategic Partnership "could be a stepping stone towards India becoming a full member of the IEA," he said.