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Ministers call for closer energy cooperation

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-30 00:01

MANDALAY:The East Asian energy ministers at a series of meetings held in Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay Wednesday called for deeper and closer regional energy cooperation and integration.

The ministers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India attended the one-day meetings of the 27th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM), the 6th ASEAN+3 (China,Japan,Korea) Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM+3) and the 3rd East Asia Summit of Energy Ministers' Meeting (EAS-EMM).

In the joint statement issued by the AMEM+3, the ministers stressed the importance of enhancing regional cooperation and appropriate regional actions to build a secure, stable and sustainable energy future.

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It also said that the ministers agreed to strenghten the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME)+3 Energy Cooperation in the present five fora on energy security, oil market, oil stockpiling, natural gas, and new and renewable energy (NRE) and energy efficiency and conservation (EEC).

The ministers also expressed their serious concerns that the highly volatile oil prices which pose a great challenge to the global economy and are against the interest of both consuming and producing countries, emphasizing the need to strengthen cooperation among those responsible for energy policy, energy supplies, oil market and transport routes.

The ministers commended the on-going activities and preparations for future activities under the SOME+3 Energy Cooperation and look forward to review further updates and recommendations at the next ASEAN+3 Ministers on Energy Meeting in Vietnam in 2010, according to the joint statement.

The other joint statement issued by the 3rd EAS-EMM stated that the ministers stressed the importance of international cooperation under the EAS process to ensure greater security and sustainability of energy for sustainable economic growth, adding that the ministers reiterated their strong commitment to intensify on-going efforts and cooperation in order to improve energy efficiency, to increase the use of cleaner energy, including renewable and alternative sources of energy such as bio-fuels, and to promote energy market integration in the region.