The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are two key players in the global energy outlook.

Each year, they guide decision makers by providing a variety of energy data and projects analysis. Both organizations track global energy market dynamics to produce short-, mid-, and long-term energy outlooks, offering their insights into how the energy market evolves.

In light of the importance of these outlooks and their influence on decision making, the International Energy Forum (IEF) organized an international symposium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 23 March. About 60 policymakers, corporate executives, investors, and other stakeholders participated in the symposium and shared their insights on energy market trends. As with prior gatherings, this meeting was jointly inaugurated by Secretaries General Ms. Maria van der Hoeven (IEA), Abdallah Salem El-Badri (OPEC), and Aldo Flores-Quiroga (IEF), who called for data harmonization efforts that help make the energy outlook more directly comparable. In this by- invitation-only meeting, ERIA was represented by Dr. Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, senior energy economist. Amid discussions dominated by oil-producing countries, he outlined the differing patterns and trends of energy use in major consumer countries in Asia. Citing ERIA's energy outlook for East Asia Summit countries, he also pointed out that the price of oil, rate of economic growth, population increase, and diffusion of renewable energy technologies at the sectoral level are the primary factors influencing the projections of oil demand. Notwithstanding short-term price uncertainties, the region is preparing for some long-term fundamentals such as an optimum energy mix, Dr. Anbumozhi said in the concluding panel discussion.

Senior industry practitioners facilitated the discussions and enabled an open exchange of views among participants. Various similarities and differences between historical data, assumptions, and projections were also discussed by the participants. Well-informed insights deepened the collective understanding of present-day market dynamics and their impact on global energy security, with a special focus on investments. As a continuous effort, they agreed to pursue a goal of higher quality data and control for differences in convention to better inform stakeholders worldwide.