35th ASEAN energy ministers’ meeting kicks off in Manila

FILE PHOTO: Senior leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Pasay City Monday in preparation for the 35th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM35) and Associated Meetings. (Photo by aseansecretariat/Facebook)

MANILA – Senior leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Pasay City Monday in preparation for the 35th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM35) and Associated Meetings.

In a media briefing held at the Microtel Hotel, Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella gave reporters a rundown of events set to take place during the five-day conference, which formally opens on Wednesday.

Under the theme, “One ASEAN Community through Resilient and Sustainable Energy”, the AMEM will be a combination of meetings at the Conrad Hotel and an exhibit on power and electricity to be held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

AMEM35 consists of three meetings — the ASEAN Ministers of Energy Meetings, the Senior Officials Meeting on Energy, and the ASEAN Center for Energy for technical support consultations and dialogue. The meetings will cover the ASEAN Power Grid, Trans ASEAN Gas Pipeline, Coal and Clean Coal Technology, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Renewable Energy, Regional Energy and Planning, and Civilian Nuclear Energy.

“The event is in line with ASEAN’s goal of boosting the region’s gross domestic product from an average of 4 percent to more than 6 percent as proposed in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC 2016-2025),” Fuentebella said.

ASEAN member states participating in the AMEM35 are Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and host country, the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF) and the Powertrends International Exhibition, which incorporates the Energy Expo 2017 and the Electech/Lightech 2017 that cover a wide range of products, will be held to coincide with AMEM35 on Sept. 27-29 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila.

The AEBF, which is co-organized by the ASEAN Center for Energy and Leverage International (Consultants) Inc., is a government-private sector forum for gathering inputs that are useful for policy-making.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi will preside over the official joint opening of the AMEM35, the AEBF and the Powertrends Exhibition. The conference proper will be opened by Dr. Sanjayan Velautham, Executive Director of the ASEAN Center for Energy.