For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 22, 2002
Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin on Development of the U.S. - Russian Energy Dialogue
NATO Summit Trip
Last May, we launched an energy dialogue to strengthen the overall
relationship between our countries, and to enhance global energy
security, international strategic stability, and regional cooperation.
Already we can see important benefits from this new aspect of our
relations.
A key success in this new dialogue was the first-ever U.S.-Russia
Commercial Energy Summit held in Houston in the beginning of October
with the participation of both countries' governmental, business and
scientific circles. The Houston Summit created new avenues for
dialogue and cooperation on energy issues and led to decisions on
concrete new investment projects and programs and business
arrangements. We thank the more than 70 companies that contributed to
its success and look forward to the next energy summit, to be hosted in
Russia in 2003.
We also support the further strengthening of relations between the
U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the
Ministry of Energy of Russia, and the Ministry of Economic Development
and Trade of Russia. We welcome as well the activities of the
intergovernmental American-Russian Working Group on Energy
Cooperation. We note our Ministers' commitment to educational
initiatives to promote best technical and managerial practices.
Commercial cooperation plays the key role in the U.S.-Russia Energy
Dialogue. One of the most important results of the Houston Summit was
the establishment of the Commercial Energy Working Group. We strongly
support the efforts of the American and Russian companies involved to
identify new and mutually beneficial commercial opportunities and to
take down barriers to trade and investment.
At present, American and Russian companies are working hard to
further connect the American and Russian energy markets. We welcome
the first delivery to the United States of Russian crude oil in July;
the establishment of enterprises that will market Russian energy in the
U.S.; and the proposal to build a deep-water port in Russia for energy
exports. As a symbolic example of our deepening energy relationship,
we note that for the first-time ever Russian crude oil was delivered to
the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Investment is necessary to ensure the further development of
Russia's energy and energy transportation sectors. To that end, we
welcome several memoranda of understanding recently signed by Russian
companies with the Export-Import Bank of the United States, as well as
agreements signed with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
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