Senior energy officials of ASEAN member states gather for a photo session at the end of the first day of their meeting in Vientiane.

Senior ASEAN energy officials work on 42nd AMEM preparation

Senior energy officials of ASEAN states gathered with their Lao counterparts in Vientiane to review preparations for the ASEAN Energy Ministers’ Meeting.
The 42nd ASEAN Energy Senior Officials Meeting began at the National Convention Centre (NCC) on Monday, and was chaired by the Director General of the Planning and Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Akhomdeth Vongsay.
Among those who participated in the meeting were the senior energy officials of ASEAN states along with their delegations, and representatives of Timor Leste as an observer country, the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Centre for Energy, the head of the ASEAN Power Utilities and Authorities Secretariat, and the ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE).
The meeting worked on preparing a summary report of all the activities under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC), and also a series of guiding policy documents to promote multilateral energy cooperation and market connectivity.
Under the APAEC, seven sub-tasks include preparations for adopting the eight Priority Plans (Annual Priority on Energy), the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA) and the 8th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO8).
Several important issues were discussed related to the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), an initiative to construct a regional power interconnection to connect the region, first on cross-border bilateral terms, and then expanded to a sub-regional basis and finally to a total integrated regional system.
With Laos the ASEAN chair for 2024, the Ministry of Energy and Mines is hosting a series of meetings of senior during September 24-25, while the 42nd ASEAN Energy Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings are scheduled for September 26-27 at the National Convention Centre (NCC).

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update September 25, 2024)