Asean Energy Ministers To Sign Pact On Asean Power Grid

SINGAPORE, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Asean energy ministers and their regional counterparts gathered in Singapore today for three energy related meetings -- the 25th Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM), the 4th Asean+3 Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM+3) and the first ever East Asian Summit Energy Ministers Meeting (EAS EMM).The meeting, held consecutively throughout the day today, is chaired by Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry, S. Iswaran.Among the most important highlights of this year's AMEM, themed "Energising Asean to Power a Dynamic Asia", is the signing of an memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Asean Power Grid.Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Prof S. Jayakumar, who opened the meeting today, described the MoU as an important step for the region in realising vision to develop a fully integrated Asean energy market."While the development of a fully integrated Asean energy market is a still distant goal and will be a very long process, we have started to move in the right direction. The MoU on the Asean Power Grid provides the essential framework for us to bring the project forward," he said.At AMEM+3, the ministers will consider the extensive work programme under the meeting's cooperation forums while at EAS EMM, they will consider the recommendations from the EAS Energy Cooperation Task Force, covering energy efficiency and conservation, energy market integration, and biofuels for transport and other uses.Jayakumar also spoke on the importance of having competitively-priced and reliable energy supplies in Asean."Asia presently accounts for, and will continue to account for, a large proportion of the increase in energy demand in the years to come. Reliable, affordable supplies are essential for Asia's continued growth," he said."Asean is no exception. As one of the world's fastest growing regions, Asean would require increasing energy supplies to fuel its rapid pace of economic expansion," he added.Jayakumar spelled out four key energy priorities for Asean, namely improving energy efficiency, development of competitive regional energy markets, investing in energy research and development (R&D), and promoting a clean environment."Using energy more efficiently can reduce dependence on imports and enhance energy security, while at the same time, cutting down on emissions," he said.Being a region endowed with rich energy resources, and located in a well-defined geographical region, there was also much scope for increasing energy trade and investments, Jayakumar said.On energy R&D, he said: "Research into more efficient use of energy and new technologies, such as clean coal, solar power, and sustainable biofuels, will allow us to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions, as well as contribute to supply security".Asean consists of 10 Southeast Asian nations while the Asean+3 comprises the 10 Asean countries plus China, Japan and South Korea. The EAS, on the other hand, comprised Asean+3 together with Australia, India and New Zealand.Malaysia is represented at the meeting by Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik, who is accompanied by senior ministry officials.