Mexico. On February 17, the Latin American nation officially became the 30th member country of the International Energy Agency and its first member in Latin America. The membership came after the Agreement on an International Energy Program (IEP) was signed and ratified by the Mexican Senate and subsequently deposited with the government of Belgium, which serves as the depositary state.
Mexico's accession is a cornerstone of the IEA's ongoing modernization strategy, which includes "opening the doors" of the Agency to engage more deeply with Emerging Economies and Major Energy Players in Latin America. Asia and Africa, towards a secure, sustainable economy and an affordable energy future.
Today, the IEA family of 30 member countries and seven partner countries accounts for more than 70% of global energy consumption, up from less than 40% in 2015.
"With this final step, Mexico enters the most important energy forum in the world," said Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, Mexico's Secretary of Energy. "We will be involved in setting global energy policies, receive expert advice on international best practices and participate in emergency response exercises."
"It is a historic day because we welcome our first member country in Latin America, with more than 120 million inhabitants, a major oil producer and a cardinal voice in global energy," said Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA. "The ambitious and successful energy reforms of recent years have put Mexico firmly on the map of global energy policy."
At the last IEA Ministerial Meeting, held in Paris in November 2017, ministers representing the Agency's member countries unanimously endorsed the rapid steps Mexico was taking to become the next member of the IEA. providing an important impetus for global energy governance.
They acknowledged that Mexico had taken all necessary steps in record time to meet international membership requirements since the first formal show of interest in November 2015. In December of last year, the Mexican Senate ratified the IEP Agreement paving the way for the deposit of the instrument of accession and enter into force.
Mexico is the 15th largest economy in the world, the 12th largest oil producer and has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world. IEA said it will benefit greatly from Mexico's contribution to the discussion on the world's energy challenges. The Agency was "delighted to continue to support the implementation of Mexico's energy reform with technical expertise and further intensify the fruitful bilateral dialogue of the exchange of best energy policy practices."
Source: International Energy Agency.
