The INOGATE Programme is an international energy co-operation programme between the European Union and the Partner Countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. They have agreed to work together toward achieving the following four major objectives:

1. Converging energy markets on the basis of the principles of the EU internal energy market taking into account the particularities of the involved countries
2. Enhancing energy security by addressing the issues of energy exports/imports, supply diversification, energy transit and energy demand
3. Supporting sustainable energy development, including the development of energy efficiency, renewable energy and demand side management
4. Attracting investment towards energy projects of common and regional interest.

On behalf of the European Union, the INOGATE Programme is represented by three Directorates-General of the European Commission:

•  Directorate-General Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid  (DEVCO)
•  Directorate-General for  Energy
•  EU External Action Service

On behalf of the Partner Countries, the INOGATE Programme is represented by the respective Ministries of the 12 Partner Countries in charge of energy.

The coordinating mechanism of the INOGATE Programme is the INOGATE Technical Secretariat, located in Kiev.

The INOGATE Programme’s mandate is to support the development of energy co-operation between the European Union, the littoral states of the Black & Caspian Seas and their neighbouring countries. The co-operation framework covers the areas of oil and gas, electricity, renewable energy and energy efficiency. INOGATE is also concerned with the broad energy security strategies of both the Partner Countries and the EU.'INOGATE'  originally stood for "Interstate Oil and Gas Transport to Europe", deriving from the predecessor project,  'Interstate Oil and Gas Pipeline Management', completed in 1997. The enlargement of INOGATE's scope of activities was a two-year process that began on 13 November 2004 with an Energy Ministerial Conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan, known as the ‘Baku Initiative’.On 30 November 2006, this initiative culminated in the signing of the Astana Energy Ministerial Declaration through which the INOGATE Programme’s expanded scope and objectives were formally adopted by all the countries involved. The new INOGATE logo and visual identity have been created to mark this new phase in the INOGATE Programme’s development.

The INOGATE Programme covers all the priority areas set out in the Energy Road Map and provides support to the Partner Countries in advancing energy co-operation.  The activities undertaken in the framework of the INOGATE Programme, both by contracted INOGATE projects and via the INOGATE Technical Secretariat, include:

Information, Communication, Promotion and Networking between the EU and the Partner Countries:

• Promoting the goals and objectives of the initiative, and ensuring that both sides actively participate in dialogue
• Networking relevant stakeholders in the Partner Countries, the EU and third parties such as donors, international financial institutions and stakeholders in the private sector
• Organising information events
• Providing a web portal facilitating information exchange
• Presenting the Programme at relevant EU and third party events
• Disseminating newsletters and other information materials

Technical support to the Partner Countries by:

• Devising and implementing EU-funded technical assistance projects in the areas of energy market convergence, investment attraction, energy security, energy efficiency and renewable energy sector
• Promoting capacity building (e.g. on the principles of energy market convergence, energy regulation and sustainable development)
• Providing supporting desk studies (e.g. benchmarking)
• Supporting the Partner Countries in the identification of priority projects
• Providing links to other EU-funded bilateral technical assistance support instruments (e.g. National Indicative Programmes, Twinning Programmes,TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument)

Until the end of 2006, the INOGATE Programme was funded under the EU's Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS) Programme.  As of 2007, INOGATE is funded under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). While Central Asia is not formally included in the ENPI, the five Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also benefit from this funding to ensure continuity of actions with all the Partner Countries of the INOGATE Programme.