Written by Nayla Barakat
Manama, Nov. 19 (BNA): Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said during the three-day Manama Dialogue 2022 conference that the State of Kuwait will continue to play its role in resolving crises through peaceful means. .
Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah said in his speech at the plenary session of the Manama Dialogue under the title: “The State of Kuwait is located in the heart of a vital region rich in resources and has witnessed its fair share of instability.” Changing the geopolitics of energy.
He said: In this turbulent region and beyond, the State of Kuwait has long played its role in protecting regional and global political stability and energy. We have witnessed the interconnectedness of markets and the collective nature of security.”
Sheikh 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 facing our region.
“The Changing Geopolitics of Energy”… The title of today’s session calls to mind both the immediate and long-term challenges facing us all: the escalating war in Ukraine. Tensions and hotbeds of tension in Asia, stalled negotiations in Vienna, deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan, and the fragile security situation in Yemen, Libya, Iraq and across our region.
Ripples in Crimea, he said, led to tsunamis in Cambridge and Connecticut. “No region is immune from the consequences of conflict and energy prices march forward to the beat of war drums.”
“Precisely for this reason, de-escalation and dialogue are vital, and in this regard, the recent US-China summit is a welcome and positive development for global stability.”
Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah said: “It is our duty, then, to promote more dialogue that works to mitigate 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 geopolitical events, we also need to consider two fundamental factors that exacerbate the outlook for energy security: First, the looming recession, writing is pending, our experts and your experts share similar assessments with you, which is what prompted oil-producing countries to take collective action.” To prepare ourselves, investors and consuming nations for what markets will bear in 2023.”
Decisions of this kind are not political, they are existential. Secondly, worsening energy supply chains, there is a need for increased investment in both upstream and downstream operations by all, adding that “aging and stalled oil refineries will only limit our ability to put in place the barriers that protect both producing and consuming countries.”
“On matters of energy security, no one can overlook its grave ramifications for the climate,” he said, quoting His Majesty King Charles III, one of the leaders who has long championed the issue, when he said: “Climate change poses an even greater existential threat to The limit to which we have to place ourselves on what might be called a warlike rule.”
There should be no doubt about it, he said, climate change is a transgenerational threat. Critical commitments were secured in the Paris Agreement and COP summits, including Kuwait’s goal of carbon neutrality in the oil and gas sectors by 2050, with the goal of complete carbon neutrality by 2060, as made at the COP 27 summit hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt. .
“Here, we meet at the nexus between climate change, security and prosperity. As our brothers in Saudi Arabia soberly warned many years ago. We simply cannot focus on the climate side, without looking at both the energy security and economic prosperity elements of these very finely balanced metrics.”
The stark question was: Are we freezing in the dark today? Or burn under the sun in the creepy future? In addressing this, the fragility of energy markets and the energy transition must be emphasized. Its effects on the global economy and its repercussions on less affluent countries and peoples, and the resulting geostrategic threats.
Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah said, “As energy markets prepare for what is to come as conflicts intensify, and a global recession looms on the horizon. Families gather this winter in search of warmth and comfort. Let us unite because through our friendships we thrive and through our partnerships we succeed.”