IEW 2026: Ministerial Panel Highlights Energy Security, Global Cooperation Amid Geopolitical Uncertainty
Energy security amid geopolitical and trade uncertainty was in focus at a ministerial panel at India Energy Week 2026 in Goa, featuring India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, and IEF Secretary General Jassim Al Shirawi.
January 28, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey
Participating in the panel on ‘Charting a Course through Uncertainty: Securing Affordable, Accessible and Sustainable Energy in a Turbulent World’ were Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Canada, and Jassim Al Shirawi, Secretary General of the International Energy Forum (IEF).
The panellists emphasised that rising demand from emerging economies, and the accelerating pace of the energy transition has brought energy security, affordability and sustainability in sharper focus, with no single pathway applicable to all countries.
Speaking from India’s perspective, Hardeep Singh Puri underlined that energy availability is the lifeline of a growing economy and a matter of national resilience. He noted that India has successfully navigated recent global turbulence without shortages by diversifying sources, expanding supplier geographies and unfurling reforms across the energy value chain.
Highlighting India’s ambition to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix, Puri stressed the importance of global collaboration, investment and realistic transition pathways. Puri reiterated that the global transition efforts should recognise that continuing growth in energy demand can be met through energy addition, not abrupt replacement as stable, predictable markets are in the shared interest of producers and consumers alike.
Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, noted that a more fragmented and mercantilist global trading environment has reinforced the importance of trusted partnerships and diversified supply chains.
Highlighting Canada’s position as a major producer of oil, gas and critical minerals, he expressed strong interest in deepening cooperation with India, particularly in the areas of LNG, critical minerals, oil supplies and long-term energy trade. The Minister also underscored that middle powers must work together to uphold free trade, reliability and non-coercive energy relationships.
Providing a global perspective, IEF Secretary General Jassim Al Shirawi highlighted rising global energy demand driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, digitalisation and improving living standards. He noted that oil and gas will continue to play a critical role even as electrification and renewables expand as feedstocks for industry and petrochemicals.
He cautioned that underinvestment, grid constraints, supply-chain concentration and fragmentation could pose risks to energy security. He also called for sustained dialogue between producers and consumers to manage the transition in a balanced and orderly manner.
The panel stressed that navigating uncertainty will require realism, adaptability and cooperation. It identified investments across oil, gas, electricity grids, LNG, critical minerals and emerging technologies as essential to ensuring that the energy transition remains inclusive, affordable and resilient.
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