ISTANBUL— The sixth Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit continued for a second day at the Grand Tarabya Hotel in Istanbul featuring a keynote address from Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, moderated by CNN Anchor Nina Dos Santos.
As Turkey prepares to assume the presidency of the G20 next month, there will be two things, according to Deputy Prime Minister Babacan, likely to top its agenda: The solicitation of input from low-income developing countries; and promoting representation in different international contexts for small-to-medium sized enterprises.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Babacan, the G20 will hold, for the first time, a meeting of its energy ministers, which will hopefully become a tradition.
Other sessions included remarks from Ambassador Richard Morningstar, founding director of the Council’s Global Energy Center; Erik Berglof, Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and US State Department Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy Robin Dunnigan.
In the afternoon, former US National Security Advisor James L. Jones and Grupa LOTOS S.A. President of the Board and CEO Paweł Olechnowicz launched a new in-depth study on the economic and political unification of Europe.
“Energy binds us together,” said Jones, “[it] touches every geostrategic issue that we talk about.” Russian aggression, he posited, could be curbed by a long-term strategic response to the energy security threat that Russia poses. “There can be no security without prosperity and no prosperity without security,” he explained, adding that the North-South Corridor could be a vital contributor to both prosperity and security for all of Europe.
Olechnowicz noted that the corridor would not only unify Europe’s north and south, but also the west to east. “We have to deliver, and find the proper resources to implement this vital project.”
The summit will conclude tomorrow with a special closing session featuring remarks by United States Vice President Joseph Biden and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
Visit the summit website for more information or to tune into the live webcast of tomorrow’s closing session.