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The Fifth Meeting of the South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Energy Ministers will be held on the
16th and 17th October 2014 in New Delhi , with an
aim to strengthen energy cooperation among the member countries of the
organisation. Shri. Piyush Goyal , Minister of State (I/C) for Power , Coal
and Renewable Energy is scheduled to inaugurate the meeting on the 17th
morning.
The energy ministers` meeting will be preceded by a
meeting of senior officials of the SAARC on the 16th
October. A number of important issues, related to the Energy sector in the
member countries would dominate the discussions.
Apart from the host country India, Energy Ministers and
senior officials from the SAARC member countries, viz, Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected
to participate in the two-day meeting.
The agenda of the meeting include review of status of
implementation of decisions of the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Energy Ministers
held in Dhaka, on 15 September 2011 and consideration of the Report of
the Senior Officials Meeting held in New Delhi, on 16 October 2014. It
also includes consideration of the issues related to enhanced cooperation in
energy sector amongst the SAARC countries.
Background:
South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) was created in 1985 with its Secretariat
in Kathmandu, Nepal. Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the
Members of this Association.
The process of regional cooperation in energy sector
began in January 2000 with the establishment of a Technical Committee on
Energy. Thereafter, recognizing that this vital area requires focused
attention, the Council of Ministers approved the creation of a specialized
Working Group on Energy in January 2004 to conduct a study on the concept of
the South Asian Energy Ring and constituted Ministerial level Energy Forum
through the Islamabad declaration of the 12th SAARC Summit.
The First Meeting of the SAARC Energy Ministers was
held at Islamabad, on 1 October 2005 which decided the formation
of an Expert Group to deliberate on the options and potential of energy
conservation and energy efficiency measures and to formulate a road map for
implementation in the SAARC region. The Expert Group formulated a Road
Map for implementation by the Member States. The second meeting of the SAARC
Energy Ministers was held on 7th March 2007 in New Delhi. The third meeting
of the SAARC Energy Ministers was held in Colombo on 29th January 2009.
The fourth meeting of the SAARC energy Ministers was held in Dhaka on 14-15
September 2011, Bangladesh.
Under SAARC energy
cooperation, following Expert Groups have been constituted:
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Expert Group
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Lead Country
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Oil and Gas
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Bangladesh
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Electricity
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India
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Renewable Energy
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Pakistan
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Technology/knowledge sharing (including energy
efficiency, coal etc.)
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India
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