Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane wants enhanced co-operation among the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (Saarc) countries to address their energy problems.
Speaking at the inaugural session of eighth Japan-Saarc Energy symposium, he stated that since its inauguration in 2006, the Japan-Saarc energy symposium had played a meaningful role in setting the direction for co-operation among the regional countries in energy sector.
The event was organised by Japan Embassy in collaboration with the Saarc Energy Centre (SEC) and the National University of Sciences and Technology (Nust), here on Tuesday. The Minister added that the symposium had been tasked with the important role of producing an outcome document having medium-term vision for energy connectivity in the Saarc region. The document would be distributed among high-level members of each Saarc member state through respective Japanese embassies, he added.
Kazuyuki Nakane added that his country had been playing very proactively for many years in advancing co-operation with the Saarc member states in the power sector to minimise their challenges. Some countries, he added, had surplus power generation capacity, while others suffered shortage. "Similarly, some countries face severe power transmission and distribution losses, while others need environment-friendly energy sources and some nations need to implement institutional reforms in power sector," added the minister.
He further stated that Japan was committed to offer tailor-made assistance to appropriately respond to the needs of each member state. On the institutional side, Japan supported Pakistan's efforts to reform its power sector. Japan was promoting co-operation with India and Bangladesh for the construction of high efficiency coal-fired power plants using Japanese technology, he said, adding his country was providing assistance to Nepal for the construction of a hydro-power plant. "Sri Lanka and Bhutan are being provided assistance for development of transmission and distribution grid whereas Japan is also extending co-operation to Afghanistan for solar power generation."
He further stated Jica and other Japanese implementing agencies would continue to engage with individual projects to strengthen energy connectivity within Saarc, referring to the "Medium-term Vision" to be completed at this symposium. "In future, we hope that region-wide mechanisms for solving common challenges will be put into place including a scheme to transmit power from an energy-surplus country to an energy-deficient country. We will extend co-operation from a new point of view that we connect 'dots' of assistance that has been extended in the bilateral context to draw 'lines' which can eventually be linked to create a 'face' of region-wide co-operation.
"There has never been a more right time than today to strengthen regional co-operation among the Saarc member states. Last November, the 18th Saarc Summit was convened for the first time in three years, on the occasion the Kathmandu Declaration was adopted. Also signed at this summit meeting was the Saarc Framework Agreement for Energy Co-operation, which was proposed at the second and third Saarc Energy Symposia. This is a major step forward as it laid the foundation to advance energy co-operation in the Saarc region. I believe that each Saarc state now needs to accelerate the development of respective supporting mechanism."
The symposium was attended by energy policy experts, professionals and academia from Japan and all Saarc member states. The symposium aims at complementing the efforts of individual Saarc member states in terms of energy self-sufficiency by wrapping up the seven Japan-Saarc Energy Symposiums in the past and making consensus on recommendations for Medium-term Vision for Energy Connectivity in the Saarc region. Recommendations to be finalised will be shared with all the Saarc member states for their consideration.
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