Newly appointed Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources at the Department of State Geoffrey Pyatt attends the Third Caspian Business Forum in New York on September 19, to discuss opportunities and challenges for enhancing mutually beneficial engagement in business, trade, and investment between the United States and Greater Caspian Region.

In his statement during the event, he discussed important challenges such as energy resources and infrastructure in the Caspian region, along with the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on rising global food and energy crisis, and supply and demand imbalances. The Caspian energy issues was a big part of his work as a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian affairs and remains an important topic at his current post.

“Much of the discussion at today’s Forum is about how we can work together to meet global energy demand, while simultaneously addressing the devastating effects and the cost of climate change. Energy security and climate change are serious challenges, but they also offer opportunities to strengthen our friendship and claim the economic benefits of new technologies and advances,” said Assistant Secretary Pyatt.

Assistant Secretary Pyatt stressed the importance of Caspian region’s gas and the critical role it plays in ensuring European energy security, which is in transition and believed to be emerging as two of today’s most important geopolitical and economic crises.

“The more of the resources in one nation can be shared with another, the more we can contribute to energy security, and diversification... The Southern Gas Corridor is a powerful example of this and shows what can be achieved with digital cooperation and technological innovation”- he mentioned during his statement.

Assistant Secretary Pyatt has also shared his opinion on energy diversification, saying it is a central component of the clean energy transition, and a part of managing this transition effectively is to ensure that people have access to reliable energy to keep the lights on and businesses operating.

“A perfect way to kick off my work with the team at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Energy Resources, and a nice opportunity to recall how far we’ve come since.” - Geoffrey Pyatt.