The 34^th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) was held on 12-13 July 2016 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Hosted by Myanmar, the meeting was chaired by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) of Myanmar, U Htein Lwin.  Attending the Meeting were ASEAN Senior Officials on Energy (SOE) Leaders, ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Centre for Energy and ASEAN Specialised Energy Bodies.

This year is the first SOME after the launch of the new ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2016-2025 (Malaysia, October 2015). Under the theme “Enhancing Energy Connectivity and Market Integration in ASEAN to Achieve Energy Security, Accessibility, Affordability and Sustainability for All”, the Meeting affirmed the need for stronger energy cooperation towards connectivity and integration in the spirit of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

With the AEC, addressing the growing demand for energy driven by both economic and demographic growth has been a challenge for ASEAN. In this respect, the Meeting reviewed the nature of energy cooperation and progress towards energy market integration in ASEAN, as well as the development of the ASEAN Power Grid and the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline in enhancing gas and electricity connectivity to secure the region’s energy supply.

The Meeting thoroughly discussed key strategies for sustainable energy development.  It also encouraged the immediate advancement of energy efficiency and conservation, as well as increase of renewable energy and other clean energy sources in the regional supply mix.  Seeing the challenges ahead, the Meeting encouraged broader and deeper collaboration with ASEAN’s dialogue partners and international organisations to benefit from their expertise and to enhance capacity building in the region. Public – private partnership also needs to be enhanced for a successful enforcement of energy policy.

In the run up to the 35^th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) which will be held on 21-23 September 2016 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, the Meeting also discussed the plan and preparation for the AMEM.  For the 16^th time, this year’s AMEM will be organised back-to-back with the ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF) 2016, an international conference and exhibition that highlights the region’s energy sector.  Unlike other business forums, AEBF gives the private sector an opportunity to interact with the Ministries of Energy from the 10 (ten) ASEAN Member States in an exclusive session called Ministers – CEO Dialogue. Participants could also witness the awarding ceremony of ASEAN Energy Awards, given to organisational and individual achievements in ASEAN’s energy sector.  To learn more on how to participate, please go to this link. (RJPS)