EITI Updates
The Energy Ministers of G8 plus China, India and Korea met in in Aomori, Japan on 8 June 2008. They welcomed implentation of EITI in their Joint Statement.
We welcome the efforts of countries exporting oil and gas as well as minerals that are implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on a voluntary basis to strengthen governance by improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector.
The G8 Finance Ministers reaffirmed the G8's backing of the EITI, and called for broader implementation when they met 14 June in Osaka, Japan. In the Statement from their meeting, they said:
We affirm the importance of good financial governance, including long-term fiscal discipline for resource rich countries, and of broader implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
On 28 May 2008, members of the Commission for International Cooperation of the Spanish parliament met with EITI Chairman Peter Eigen and Sarah Wykes and Marie-Ange Kalenga of PWYP. The parlamentarians agreed to deepen the debate on future Spanish engagement with the EITI and has already asked the Spanish government to explore future steps.
Welcome to the spring edition of the quarterly EITI Newsletter. We hope that this quarterly EITI newsletter will be a useful resource for readers that wish to follow recent developments in the EITI community. 3000 users have signed up to receive regular email updates - illustrating both the growing interest in EITI and the growing expectations.
On 3 June 2008, the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan announced the release of the Government's eighth EITI report (Jan-Dec 2007). The release is accompanied by the Aggregator's opinion based on individual submissions of extractive industry companies participating in the EITI process in Azerbaijan. The press release and reports are available here.
From the EITI Newsletter Spring 2008
By T. Negbalee Warner, Head of LEITI Secretariat
The World Bank and the EITI Secretariat hosted a one-day workshop on EITI Reconciliation issues in Paris on Tuesday, 1 April 2008. This workshop was attended by a dozen individuals and companies who had been involved in EITI reconciliation process in the 10 EITI reporting countries. This was a good opportunity for them to exchange insights and information, and to develop suggestions to address the EITI reconciliation issues. Please see the link for the report of the meeting and the recommendations for the EITI Board and Secretariat.
The Second Ministerial Conference of Energy Ministers of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean (AFROLAC) took place in Cancun, Mexico on the 3 and 4 April 2008. The EITI Chairman Peter Eigen addressed the conference, and talked about the importance of transparency in the extractive industries. The Ministerial Declaration included a commitment to support transparency initiatives in the energy sector.
A new fact sheet in French is now available about the activities of EITI in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It can be found below.
Questions about the implementation of the EITI in DRC can be directed to Tim Bittiger at the EITI International Secretariat.
The report from the EITI Forum held in Kinshasa on 8-9 January has now been published. The Forum, organised by the EITI Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in collaboration with the international EITI Secretariat, brought together stakeholders from all of the country to take stock of progress made with the EITI, and to discuss the way ahead for implementation.
On 22 February, DRC was admitted as an EITI Candidate Country.