About The IEF

The International Energy Forum (IEF) - the global home of energy dialogue - is the trusted, and neutral inter-governmental platform for energy dialogue among member states, industry leaders, and experts. Its Ministers represent producing, consuming, and transit countries in every region, at every stage of economic development, and across both established and emerging energy-system supply chains. The IEF advances global energy security through open and inclusive dialogue spanning all fuels, technologies, and systems.

The global energy system is defined by interdependence, and the greatest risks often come not from disagreement itself but from misunderstanding. The IEF is designed to reduce that risk by keeping a neutral space open where all voices can be aired, including views that do not align, and where there is no requirement to converge on a single position.

Established to strengthen cooperation, confidence and transparency across global energy markets, the Forum enables open, balanced, and evidence-based engagement at a time when energy systems are more interconnected and interdependent than ever. The IEF is distinctive, not just in its global scope, but in its approach. Neutral by design, the IEF convenes, analyses, and catalyzes cooperation across the global energy community through open-minded, constructive exchange that broadens perspectives and deepens shared understanding. Its Dialogues form part of the world’s critical energy-security infrastructure, building the trust needed to drive cooperation and support resilient energy pathways for the future.

This is a practical contribution to global energy security. Dialogue supports stability by improving situational awareness, strengthening the quality of decisions, and reducing the risk of misinterpretation that can amplify volatility.

That is the practical value of the IEF model. When countries participate, they gain candid visibility into the thinking of others. They hear what is driving policy choices, what constraints are shaping supply, demand, and investment decisions, and how different actors read the same market signals. This is not about forcing consensus. It is about making differences clearer, enabling better judgement, and improving the quality of decisions in an environment where uncertainty is costly.

The IEF's inclusiveness is central to this purpose. It brings together actors with genuinely different starting points, including producers, consumers, and transit countries across all regions and levels of development. That breadth reduces blind spots and ensures that policy discussions reflect the realities of the whole system, not only the perspectives of the like-minded.

The IEF also plays a distinct diplomatic role because it is not an aligned bloc. It’s design brings together actors who do not share the same assumptions, and that is precisely the point. By widening the range of perspectives in the room, the IEF helps avoid groupthink, identifies blind spots early, and supports more resilient decision making across the system.

The IEF's neutrality is foundational. The Forum is fuel neutral, technology neutral, and politically neutral. It does not advocate for a single model. It creates a trusted space where different national pathways can be discussed candidly and respectfully, with a focus on understanding rather than alignment.

The IEF, supported by a permanent Secretariat of international staff based in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, works closely with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) through a long-standing trilateral work program, and with the seven partner organizations (APEC, EUROSTAT, GECF, IEA, OLADE, OPEC and UNSD) in the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) that it coordinates. Together with wider engagement across policy-makers, other international institutions and industry, this work strengthens the reach and relevance of the global energy dialogue. Within this trusted and neutral framework, the IEF combines its own analysis with that of its partners to amplify the visibility and policy resonance of vital data and insights.