India has suggested that international organisations like the World Bank should facilitate financing of energy transport infrastructure, like oil and gas pipelines, to overcome bilateral or regional complexities.

"We, in India, support global initiatives that strengthen mutual energy security by promoting a truly open, competitive and globally integrated energy market and which ensure the long-term interest of both the producers and consumers," Jitin Prasada, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas told the opening session of the first Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ministerial conference on energy security at Brussels.

He said India prefers a revamping the global energy architecture by encouraging a participatory model based on diversification of energy sources, stability of energy supplies, security of energy transportation and creation of new energy infrastructure and its protection.

He also proposed that suppliers and buyers should enter into long-term sale and purchase agreements not only for the purpose of supplies but also for prices to bring stability in oil prices.

"We are sure that ASEM participants together will come up with new approaches, initiatives and ideas that can address the rising energy anxiety so that we can rework out the global energy architecture for common benefit," he said.

ASEM members, especially EU members and the East Asian countries, are among major consumers of traditional energy such as petroleum, whose overall consumption accounts for about two third of the world's total consumption.

As such, he said, "energy cooperation among ASEM members will enhance energy consumer-producer dialogue and coordination, and restrain speculation, thus promoting long-term supply-demand equilibrium and price stability of energy."

ASEM members can pursue mutually cooperation in energy through development and utilisation of clean, renewable and new energy sources, he said.

Developed members of ASEM have advantages in know-how, R&D, technology and capital, while developing members have strong market demand, he pointed out.

ASEM members should promote mutually beneficial business models which support market access through technology transfers and jointly pursuing commercially viable R&D, he added.

Energy cooperation, the minister said, may also include sharing of best energy practices, promoting dialogue and communication between energy producer- and consumer-countries, promoting renewable energy, development of energy-saving industries and energy efficiency and exploring newer models of financing energy infrastructure and securing transnational transportation of energy.

"Diversification of energy sources and of energy suppliers strengthens energy security. Renewable energy sources are the only truly sustainable sources of energy both in terms of their environmental impact and decreasing costs over the long term," he said, adding, "The effective universalization of new and renewable sources of energy as 'collective goods' needs to be pursued with a mission through organizations like the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)".