Indian, Japanese, Australian and U.S. energy ministers will convene in Houston in the second week of September for the first-ever Quad energy ministers meeting and convening of the Fuel Security Forum, the new arm of the Quad.
It is being held on the sidelines of the energy ministers’ meeting of Group of 20 (G20) economies, while the ongoing conflict in West Asia continues to stir heightened concerns about energy supply security. Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will attend the meeting on behalf of the Nation.
One essential element of the negotiations will revolve around the issue of creating storage space in the U.S.’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve to store oil from India and Japan. During the forum, it also may be possible to discuss technical assistance measures to be offered to Quad members to reinforce their own energy reserves.
The Fuel Security Forum will be inaugurated after holding the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad in New Delhi in May. It’s designed to improve the understanding and coordination of the four countries in times of limited worldwide energy availability.
During times of strained energy markets, the four nations have committed each other to supporting their energy needs as well as other Indo-Pacific nations’ needs.
The significance of the Houston meeting is that it may lay the groundwork for a more formal process of energy cooperation between the four countries, as opposed to what is currently called a “foreign ministers” dialogue. The four countries want to build resilience against future disruptions of petroleum supplies by coordinating the organization of petroleum stocks, technical expertise and energy emergency support.
The forum is likely to be a forum for India, Japan, Australia and the US to share ways of responding to the new energy challenges and enhancing energy security in the Indo-Pacific region.