The 29 th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM 29) opened in
Jerudong, Brunei, on Sept. 21, discussing important issues relating to
policies, regulations and business opportunities in the energy sector to
boost ASEAN connectivity and build the ASEAN Community in 2015.
AMEM 29, the first energy meeting since the Overall Plan on ASEAN
Connectivity was adopted, drew the participation of ASEAN
Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan and representatives from 10 ASEAN
countries and dialogue partners, and international organisations.
In his opening speech, Brunei’s Energy Minister Mohammad Yasmin Umar,
the Chair of AMEM 29, affirmed that the meeting offered a “golden
opportunity” for all ASEAN members, dialogue partners, international
organisations and the energy business community to speed up ASEAN energy
connectivity.
He stressed that ASEAN has a demand for
boosting infrastructure connectivity to open up new market
opportunities and strengthen energy security, as well as speed up
regional connectivity projects in the energy, oil and gas sectors,
creating favourable conditions for energy trade, investment and services
and enhancing cooperation with partners to strongly foster “East Asian
energy connectivity”.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin
Pitsuwan highlighted the importance of efforts by the bloc’s energy
sector to develop cooperative opportunities and attract the
participation of partners and the business community in implementing the
Overall Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, the ASEAN Plus Three Comprehensive
Strategy on Food Security and Bio-Energy Development (APTCS-FSBD) and
the Strategic Plan of Action on Food and Energy Security (SPA-FES).
ASEAN energy ministers agreed on common goals for the region as they
worked towards increasing the proportion of renewable energy resources
and new energy technologies, to ensure ASEAN’s sustainable recovery and
growth, and cope with increasing energy challenges.
They said that ASEAN should build emergency oil reserve stores to deal
with possible interrupted supplies while strengthening regional
cooperation in clean energy production, which contributes to global
energy dialogue, and providing statistical research and analyses and
necessary recommendations in order to build a coordinated, concentrated,
strong, effective and strategic energy programme for ASEAN.
According to the ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE), ASEAN is
expected to emerge as a net importing region in the next five years and
it requires a stronger cooperation between ASEAN member countries and
their partners to facilitate oil and gas trading and marketing
activities in the region.
ASCOPE also said that the
region’s two leading energy connectivity projects, namely the “ASEAN
Power Grid” (APG) and the “Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline” (TAGP), will help
strengthen regional energy security.
On the sidelines
of AMEM 29, ASEAN and the International Energy Agency (IEA) signed a
memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation./.