More than 500 representatives from the world’s resource rich countries will meet in Oslo 16-17 October 2006 to take the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to the next level.
05/10/2006 :: The main objectives of the conference are to take significant steps towards establishing EITI as a global standard for transparency in revenues from oil, gas and mining, to expand the number of implementing partners and to address common challenges.
“By meeting these objectives, we will make the Oslo Conference a milestone towards making EITI a global norm”, says the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, host for the conference.
The Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, George Soros, founder and chairman of The Open Society Institute and the Soros foundation network, ministers, top executives from the global oil, gas and mining companies, head of NGO`s and international organizations like the World Bank, IMF and IFC will be sharing experiences and “lessons learned” at 14 different sessions. The Norwegian Development minister, Erik Solheim, and the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Odd Einar Enoksen, will also contribute to the programme.
From resource curse to development
More than three and a half billion people live in countries rich in oil, gas and minerals. These natural resources provide great opportunities to improve people’s lives, but there are risks; lack of transparency undermines such opportunities and can lead to poverty, conflict and corruption.
The goal of EITI is to ensure that the extraction of natural resources benefits the country as a whole and all its citizens. EITI does this by setting common standards for publication and verification of company payments and for government revenues from oil, gas and mining. In other words, the objective is to make publicly available information on who pays what, where and to whom.
The Future of EITI
Nigeria and Azerbaijan have been pilot countries since 2003. A number of countries will take the opportunity at the Oslo Conference to endorse the EITI, while others will report on their progress towards adherence. Identified challenges to implementation and governance of the process will be addressed in Oslo in order to consolidate and move EITI forward. The Conference will also identify concrete incentives for both governments and business to implement EITI and make the initiative self-sustaining.