President Lee set to meet IEA chief to discuss energy security

President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to meet with International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol on Thursday, according to his office. The purpose of the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae is to discuss energy security and other global matters. This follow-up meeting comes after Lee proposed at the Group of Seven summit in June to explore cooperative ways to bolster the resilience of Asia-Pacific nations' energy supply chains.

During their discussion, Lee and Birol aim to exchange perspectives on enhancing global energy security in the face of escalating energy and climate crises, sparked by recent conflicts in the Middle East and natural disasters like the floods in Nepal. Notably, Birol has been instrumental in addressing the global energy crisis by facilitating the release of 400 million barrels of oil from IEA member countries' emergency reserves in response to the Middle East conflict in March, as reported by the presidential office.