The Honourable Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (R) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Brunei Darussalam, is currently attending the 9th Asian Energy Ministerial Roundtable (AMER9) alongside the India Energy Week 2023 (IEW 2023) held at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru, Republic of India from 6 to 8 February 2023. Accompanying the Honourable Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office were Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Haji Alaihuddin bin Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Utama Haji Awang Mohd Taha, High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam to the Republic of India, and Yang Mulia Pengiran Haji Jamra Weira bin Pengiran Haji Petra, Acting Permanent Secretary (Energy) at the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as officials from the Department of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India, the IEW 2023, the first edition of India’s flagship energy event, with the theme “Growth. Collaboration. Transition.”, was graced with a Special Address by the Honorable Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on 6 February 2023, whereby the Honourable Prime Minister stressed the country’s efforts to accelerate on energy transition by increasing their green hydrogen landscape, and called on investors to participate in the country’s green growth, as well as fossil fuel exploration. IEW 2023 comprises four (4) main conference events, namely, Strategic Conference, Executive Sessions, Technical Conference and Leadership Roundtables, which focus on issues of energy security and its challenges, as well as the demand for energy in line with the growing Asian economy.
The Honourable Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office attended the Ministerial Session of the Strategic Conference on the theme “Strategies for a Sustainable and Decarbonized Future”, which focused on the role of policymakers in accelerating the adoption of low-carbon options, including renewable energy, electric vehicles and hydrogen, and in ensuring collaboration to achieve an energy secure and low carbon future. The discussions evolved around energy delivery, innovation and knowledge transfer, accessible and secure energy for all, and partnership and path to net zero.
The 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER9), hosted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India, and in association with the International Energy Forum (IEF), was held on 7 February 2023, and the theme of its ninth edition was “Mapping Stable and Secure Energy Pathways: Energy Security, Justice, Growth and Innovation”. The discussions during the AMER9 mainly called for strengthening dialogue between producers and consumers to promote energy security and support the stability of markets, and increasing trade and investments for long-term energy security, justice, resilience and sustainability.
The Honourable Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office has delivered a Ministerial Statement during the Plenary Session on “Addressing Energy Security and Justice Challenges In A Turbulent World”, which highlighted Brunei Darussalam’s initiatives and efforts in enhancing energy security in ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, and key energy transition strategies that includes increasing renewable energy share in the total energy mix to at least 30 percent by 2035, primarily through development of large-scale solar.
At the sidelines of both events, the Honourable Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office made a Call on His Excellency Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Republic of India, on 6 February 2023. Both sides appreciated the important relations shared between Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of India, underpinned by longstanding friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, and look forward to explore more opportunities to further deepen the energy cooperation.
The Honourable Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office also had the opportunity to meet with the other Ministerial attendees to both events, including His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Special Envoy for Climate Change, United Arab Emirates, where both sides expressed interest in exploring collaboration, as well as sharing best practices particularly in the development of clean and renewable energy; His Excellency Haitham Al-Ghais, Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), where both sides shared the importance of the common objective of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) of the OPEC and Non-OPEC Producing Countries for a stable oil market; and His Excellency Hidetoshi Nishimura, President of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), where both sides discussed on the potential collaboration on various energy initiatives pertaining to the development of sustainable energy in Brunei Darussalam.
A Special India Dinner is scheduled to take place on the evening of 7 February 2023, where Ministerial delegates will have a further opportunity to meet bilaterally and networking.
