24 August 2007

East Asian energy ministers enhance regional cooperation

Energy Ministers met on 23 August for the inaugural East Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting (EAS EMM).

The Joint Ministerial Statement signed at the EAS EMM “reaffirms the Leaders shared goal of ensuring affordable energy sources for development, while recognising the urgent need to address climate change” Minister Duynhoven said.

The EAS has a significant and possibly unique role in managing increasingly complex issues in the region, and energy security and climate change issues are at the top of the agenda.

At the meeting Ministers endorsed work programmes on energy efficiency, biofuels and energy market integration which are the initial areas of focus for regional cooperation to be in the Energy Cooperation Task Force.

“The work in energy efficiency and on the development of a cooperation programme on sustainable biofuels is well aligned with the Government’s direction, and complements the initiatives proposed in the draft New Zealand Energy Strategy (NZES) and New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NZEECS)” said Minister Duynhoven.

The Ministers meeting was also a timely opportunity for New Zealand to further enhance cooperation on energy security.

In the margins of the meeting Minister Duynhoven met with Japan’s Minister of Economy Trade and Industry, His Excellency Akira Amari and announced in a joint statement that they intended to initiate discussions on cooperation in oil stocks. “This will complement our existing arrangements with the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands” said Minister Duynhoven.

On August 23, 2007, H.E. Akira Amari, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan and The Hon. Harry Duynhoven, Associate Minister for Energy of New Zealand, held a meeting in Singapore on the occasion of the 1st East Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting.

Both sides exchanged their views on the international energy situation, noting with satisfaction the recent cooperation between the countries through fora such as IEA, APEC, and EAS. Both sides recognized that the bilateral cooperation between Japan and New Zealand in the energy sector has a significant value for both countries as well as for the stability of the international energy market. In this context, both Ministers affirmed the following points:

１．Both sides intend to initiate a discussion expeditiously regarding an agreement between Japan and New Zealand for bilateral cooperation on petroleum stocks, bearing in mind Article 3 of the Annex to the Agreement on an International Energy Program.

２．Both sides expressed their expectation that such bilateral cooperation will contribute to New Zealand fulfilling its obligations under the IEP and strengthen the stability of the international petroleum market.

３．Both sides expect that this cooperation will mark a meaningful step for the energy cooperation among countries in East Asia.

ENDS

© Scoop Media