Dear community of the energy sector, it is a pleasure for me to start these first months of the year by telling you important news for OLADE. By Ministerial Decision XLVIII / D / 541 of the Meeting of Ministers held in Montevideo-Uruguay on December 13, 2018, the Regulations for the incorporation into OLADE of Permanent Observers and Non-Full Members were approved; instrument that establishes the requirements, procedures, principles, norms and criteria that regulate the admission, incorporation and participation of these categories in OLADE.
This regulation is based on the need to establish joint actions for coordination with other government agencies, on issues of mutual interest with OLADE. Additionally, it regulates the organization’s vision of openness to the contribution and participation of third parties with interests in the region.
As a start to these new actions by OLADE, on February 18, I held meetings with representatives of cooperation agencies in France and Spain, with the aim of generating actions for the benefit of the region. In these meetings I took the opportunity to socialize the new OLADE regulations regarding the incorporation of Permanent Observers or Non-Full Members to the Organization.
The purpose of these approaches is to define a roadmap that will allow us to continue deepening the relationship between our region and Europe, with the perspective of accompaniment, technical assistance and potential financing to assist the needs of the Member Countries of Olade.
Here is a brief detail about the categories and benefits of joining OLADE as Permanent Observers or Non-Full Members:
The name of Permanent Observer; refers to a category of OLADE membership granted to a State or body that officially and formally integrates OLADE with voice and without vote in decision-making and preferential and permanent participation in the sessions of its governing bodies, with access to certain benefits in the organization by setting an annual contribution.
Benefits:
Contact and direct interaction with focal points and high authorities of the energy sector in Latin America and the Caribbean through the national coordination of OLADE in each and every one of its 27 member countries.
Voice in a field of first line discussion with the highest authorities in the sector, through direct participation in Councils of Experts and Meetings of Energy Ministers that the organization conducts in person and periodically, with excellent convening power and results.
Non-Full Member; temporary category of linkage to OLADE granted to a State that complies with the requirements established in the Lima Agreement to join the organization in the category of member country, which is in the process of adherence and ratification of the constituent treaty of OLADE. The State interested in this category must be geographically located in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Benefits:
Facilities for the granting and/or acquisition of lines of cooperation, fund management and financing of projects and programs within the scope of action of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Benefits in terms of training, through the access to the OLADE training and capacity-building platforms, aimed at institutional improvement, among others.
With this purpose, I invite States and institutions to be part of our organization and support the development of the energy sector in the region, considering that the current conditions of energy transition, as well as the availability of conventional and non-conventional resources, constitute opportunities for synergies venture between States and organizations linked to the energy sector, with a view of establishing and consolidating spaces for dialogue.
Greetings from Quito, Ecuador.
Alfonso Blanco
Executive Secretary of OLADE
