Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Tenth Meeting of the Expert Working Group on Energy Connectivity.
I am pleased to note the Expert Working Group has continued to be an effective platform for dialogue and knowledge sharing on the role of energy connectivity in fostering a secure, sustainable, and affordable energy transition in Asia and the Pacific.
The contributions of this group are critically important to the development and implementation of ESCAP’s energy connectivity work programme, ensuring that it is relevant and useful to all our member States.
This working group was also instrumental in the development of the Regional Road Map on Power System Connectivity.
One-and-a-half years after its endorsement at the 77th session of the Commission, we are working with member States and other partners to implement the Road Map.
Now is the right time to review the Road Map strategies, reflect on the milestones achieved, and discuss the way forward.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,
Asia and the Pacific is the fastest-growing region. Energy demand remains tightly linked to economic growth, increasing population and expanding urbanization.
At the same time, countries face an urgent need to respond to the overlapping crises caused by recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, current geopolitical tensions and the long-term effects of climate change.,
The energy transition can help address all these challenges, including by eliminating energy poverty, increasing economic growth and improving energy security.
Energy connectivity can help meet the Sustainable Development Goals by enabling the integration of higher shares of renewable energy sources, increasing diversity of supply, driving economic growth and affordably expanding access to all.
We have worked to strengthen regional cooperation, including on energy-related issues such as the 2022 Regional Trends Report focusing on the outlook and opportunity for energy connectivity.
we will organize the third Asian and Pacific Energy Forum, which was established as a ministerial-level platform to promote regional cooperation for enhancing the sustainable use of energy resources in Asia and the Pacific.
The insights of this expert working group will help inform the development of the agenda of the Forum.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
There is a well-known saying that a bundle of sticks is far stronger than any single stick contained within it. As a region, we are strongest when we work together.
I hope this meeting of the expert group will continue the important conversation, discussion of how, through energy connectivity, we can work together to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement targets.
I wish you all a successful and fruitful discussion.
Thank you.
