The first meeting of the energy producers and consumers that took place in Paris in 1991 was the start of the dialogue Marathon. Since 2000 the dialogue is continuing as the International Energy Forum (IEF).

Since then, a permanent Secretariat has been established and, as of the Amsterdam Forum in 2004, the International Energy Business Forum (IEBF), bringing together politicians and energy industry leaders, has preceded the Ministerial Forum. The IEBF has been a welcomed addition to the dialogue process as it gives the operators of the Energy Industry a unique platform to air their concerns and needs for a more efficient and timely response to the challenges they have to address.

JODI, the Joint Oil Data Initiative, managed by the IEF Secretariat is developing well and increased political support will greatly enhance its effectiveness and benefits. Presently, JODI is limited to oil and will in time cover natural gas and other important sources of energy so as to include more elements and factors that influence the global energy balance.

Irrespective of what topics are chosen for the different sessions of both, the Ministerial and those with the industry leaders, the objectives of the dialogue remain unchanged from those of the Paris meeting in 1991.

In setting the agenda for the Doha Forum, held in 2006, we revised the format to encourage discussions beyond the listed topics and allow participants to raise issues they considered important and relevant. The unprecedented number of bilateral discussions that took place throughout the Doha Forum was a good indicator of the level of willingness and desire for better understanding of issues and readiness for co-operation in attempting to bridge gaps and jointly move along the road that leads to agreed objectives of mutual benefits.

The ultimate goal of the dialogue will remain to be full transparency of agendas leading eventually to joint planning of the global energy balance. There are numerous keywords that can be used in the search for energy security, however, transparency and co-operation will remain the most important.

We hope and expect that the Rome 11th International Energy Forum and the 3rd International Energy Business Forum will achieve more for all involved. We strongly believe that we are on the right path and all will eventually harvest the fruits of our sincere efforts in making the dialogue successful.