Igor Yusufov, the president's special envoy for energy cooperation, told an energy security summit in Geneva: "The enormous reserves of oil and natural gas in the Caspian Sea must be available to consumers on world markets. Our task is to encourage massive investment to conduct a detailed field appraisal, develop the oil and gas resources, construct reliable, economically justified and efficient transportation lines, and to attract consumers to the markets."
The meeting was attended by representatives from the five Caspian states, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran, as well as Uzbekistan and Turkey.
Yusufov said energy security, particularly in the Caspian region, was a priority problem, given the many new challenges, including terrorism, which face the word today and threaten the supply of energy resources to consumers.
"I think the issue of energy security will be no less important and vital than oil and gas prices in the near future," the official said.
Accordingly, Yusufov urged the Caspian states and the global community to join efforts to attract large investment to the region.
The envoy said the Caspian Sea's legal status had not been discussed at the meeting.
