Photo 1. Head of Delegates for the 22^nd REPP-SSN Meeting in Singapore

In the lead-up to the 41st Senior Official Meeting of Energy (SOME), which will be held in the ASEAN Secretariat in June 2023, the 22^nd Regional Energy Policy and Planning Sub-Sector Network (REPP-SSN) conducted a meeting to continue delivering progress updates and providing guidance to achieve the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) targets.

The meeting was opened by Mr Jonathan Goh Kok Chye, Director of External Relations, Energy Planning and Development Division, Energy Market Authority (EMA), Senior Official of Energy (SOE) Leader of Singapore, also as the REPP-SSN Country Coordinator. During his opening remarks, he appreciated the attendance and continued cooperation within the ASEAN Member States (AMS). Moreover, he asserted the need to foster collaboration with dialogue partners (DPs) and international organisations (IOs) in optimising the energy transition under APAEC.

The meeting was chaired by Ms Agnes Koh, Assistant Director of External Relations, Energy Planning and Development Division of EMA and Alternate SOE Leader of Singapore. During the meeting, the key discussion points include but are not limited to updating the progress of the APAEC Phase II Implementation from each programme area, elaborating Mid-Term Review of APAEC, and putting forward the preparation timeline for drafting the next cycle of APAEC, which will run for the period of 2026-2035.

Photo 2. ASEAN Member States delegates during the 22^nd REPP-SSN Meeting in Singapore

The meeting also presented the development updates on AMS’ engagement with several DPs and IOs. These DPs include Australia, China, India, Japan, Norway, Russia, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America (USA). Meanwhile, the IOs cooperation that was discussed includes the International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Further, the new cooperation plan with European Union (EU) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) was also conferred. The region also anticipated the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality to be published soon. The presentation delivered by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as the consultant allows AMS to understand the response needed from the energy sector to be incorporated and re-strategised

To close the meeting, Ms Agnes Koh conveyed that REPP-SSN must continue to monitor key global trends and explore the impacts and benefits on the ASEAN energy sector.

Following the meeting, the ASEAN-ADB Workshop on Financing of Power Projects for Energy Transition and the Singapore-IEA Regional Training Programme on Seizing Opportunities with Regional Power Grids were held back-to-back physically on 30-31 May 2023.