JAKARTA/NEW DELHI, 10 February 2022 – The ASEAN-India High Level Conference on Renewable Energy, co-organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India, in collaboration with the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) India, took place on 7-8 February.
The High-Level Conference focused on the theme: “Experience and Innovations for Integrated Renewables Market”, and consisted of an inaugural ministerial Session, five technical sessions and a closing session.
In his opening remarks, Secretary MNRE welcomed the high-level dignitaries from ASEAN Member States to the inaugural Ministerial session and set the context for the conference.
In their special remarks, Tun Lean, Secretary of State, Ministry of Mines and Energy of Cambodia and Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Fertilizers of India, addressed the achievements in ASEAN and India, and the need for carrying forward cooperation in the field of renewable energy to facilitate energy transitions in both regions.
The Ministerial session was addressed by Brunei Darussalam Minister of Energy Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mat Suny bin Haji Md Hussein; Lao PDR Minister of Energy and Mines Dr. Daovong Phonekeo; U Aung Than Oo, Union Minister for Electricity and Energy, Myanmar; Alfonso G. Cusi, Philippines’ Department of Energy Secretary; Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Minister of Energy, Thailand; and Ego Syahrial, Secretary General, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia.
In the session, the dignitaries talked about renewable energy ambitions, progress made and priority areas for their respective countries and reiterated their commitment to taking ASEAN-India cooperation in the sector forward. The ministers acknowledged the threat posed by climate change and reiterated their intention towards transitioning into renewables to build a sustainable future.
Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of International Solar Alliance, briefed the ministers on the vision and plans of the ISA and potential benefits for ASEAN Member States joining the alliance.
In his keynote address, Shri R.K. Singh, Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy of India emphasised that India and ASEAN can work together to develop an entire ecosystem for renewables that promotes knowledge sharing, capacity building and technical assistance; and also explore joint initiatives for the development of renewable energy manufacturing hubs in the region.
He applauded ASEAN’s efforts to achieve the development of the ASEAN Power Grid and highlighted that India foresees opportunities to expand this grid integration beyond ASEAN to the Indian sub-continent in line with the “One Sun One World One Grid” initiative.
In the closing session, Secretary (East) MEA of India, Saurabh Kumar, and Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh, shared their vision to strengthen ASEAN-India relationship.
Secretary Kumar elaborated on the areas of possible collaborations between ASEAN and India in the New and Renewable Energy Sector, as well as its integration to the power grid system. Further, Deputy Secretary General Singh underlined ASEAN and India’s shared interest and agenda for scaling up renewable energy.
On his part, ACE Executive Director Dr. Nuki Agya Utama also highlighted how ASEAN could adopt best practices and build multilateral cooperation with India to support the achievement of the regional target of 23% RE share in the ASEAN energy mix by 2025, under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Phase II: 2021 – 2025.
More than 1000 participants from over 20 countries participated in the conference.
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