United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Third North-East Asia Government-Business Dialogue
Theme: “Challenges to Cross-Border Energy Transportation
in North-East Asia
23 November 2010, Moscow, Russian Federation
In a bid to form a common platform for oil, gas and electric power interconnection and coal development cooperation in North-East Asia (NEA), the Intergovernmental Collaborative Mechanism on Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia continues to encourage dialogues between the government and the business sectors. With the theme of “Challenges to Cross-border Energy Transportation in North-East Asia”, the Third NEA Government-Business Dialogue (GBD-3) is envisioned as a forum for Government officials and Business executives in the energy sector of the subregion to come together and discuss issues that hinder transboundary energy trade and increased energy infrastructure development, investment and technology exchange through bilateral and multilateral frameworks. The third GBD is one of the activities of the Collaborative Mechanism, which was launched during the first Senior Officials Committee (SOC) in Ulaanbaatar in November 2005.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the GBD are to:
enhance collaboration between the Government and the Business sectors including through multilateral channels for expansion of energy development and trade within NEA; and
identify regional cooperation measures to facilitate trade and joint-development of energy resources.
Participants from the Governments will reflect on the results of this Dialogue at the sixth session of the SOC, which will be held immediately after the Dialogue (24-25 November 2010). The SOC will decide on a course of actions that would contribute to the realization of the vision of “Ensuring energy security in NEA through energy cooperation in a sustainable manner by 2020”.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The participants of the GBD are senior-level Government officials from the ministries of energy and foreign affairs as well as senior-level Business executives from the coal and relevant sectors from North-East Asian countries. Nomination of Business representatives will be made through the Governments of NEA member countries.
KEY BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
At this Dialogue, participants will:
Be UPDATED and CONNECTED on the current policies of NEA member States on energy cooperation and energy transport in the subregion.
DISCOVER business opportunities in the energy and transport sectors of NEA countries.
MEET key stakeholders in NEA’s vibrant energy and transport sectors.
RECOMMEND to the government sector options to address business impediments in current cross-border energy transportation projects in NEA.
Cross-border energy transportation in North-East Asia
In NEA region, there are huge amount of natural resources such as oil, gas, coal and electric power. How to use these energy sources efficiently is a critical factor for ensuring the sustainable development of the region.
Currently, various energy projects are being processed to enlarge energy capacity in the region. Typically, Russian Kovykta natural gas project and Elga coal project, and Mongolian Tavan Tolgoi coal projects are under execution. In addition, an electric power grid interconnection project— PEACE project—is under discussion.
These projects are expected to reinforce energy security in the region. However, if a trade-friendly environment does not exist, the development as well as the efficient use of energy would not be realized. In this context, some of challenges, as follows, have become key issues to facilitate energy trade in the subregion.
Firstly, an energy transportation system should function well. Therefore, railroad networks have to be connected and more harbors are required.
Secondly, different legal and institutional system among the countries should be harmonized to support the expansion of energy trade in the subregion.
Lastly, most energy projects require huge investments. Hence, financing becomes a hot issue whenever a proposed energy project is put through the approval process. To obtain an effective financing package, active cooperation among the parties is needed. Furthermore, international financing institutions will be expected to play a major role in developing energy projects in the subregion.
PROGRAMME
9:00-9:20
Opening Session
Opening Remarks by Dr. Nam Yll Kim, Director, Department of Northeast Asia Energy Research Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), Republic of Korea
Welcome Remarks by Mr. Talyat Aliev, Deputy Director, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Energy, Russian Federation
Congratulatory Remarks by H.E. Mr. Zorigt Dashdorj, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mongolia
Message by Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary, ESCAP
North-East Asia—comprising China, Democ¬ratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation—had nearly 1.7 billion people (25% of global population)and GDP of USD12 trillion (current prices, or 20% of world GDP) in 2008. North-East Asia is ex¬pected to emerge as one of the growth centers of the world economy in the twenty-first century. In this con¬text, the development of en¬ergy and electricity supplies as well as the efficient use of energy will play an impor¬tant role for economic de¬velopment of the subregion.
In November 2005, the In¬tergovernmental Collabora¬tive Mechanism on Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia was launched with a vision “By 2020, improved energy security in North-East Asia through energy cooperation in a sustainable manner” and with objectives of: (1) increasing the supply of energy in the North-East Asian subregion, lessening its dependence on energy imports from outside the subregion; (2) optimizing the economy and efficiency of the supply and use of en¬ergy; and (3) minimizing the environmental impact of energy production and con¬sumption through an im¬proved energy mix and greater energy efficiency.
To date, the Collaborative Mechanism has prepared harmonized data and information on the energy policies, statistics and outlook of selected NEA coun¬tries. A joint study on Energy Production Potential and Development Plans in North-East Asian Countries: Major energy supply facilities is being completed and another is assessing the status and challenges to coal development in NEA. and identifying opportunities for subregional cooperation in the coal sector.
VENUE AND ACCOMMODATION
Holiday Inn Lesnaya, Moscow, Russian Federation
REGISTRATION
Registration to the GBD is free of charge.
CONTACT
Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation
Ms. Svetlana Beznasyuk
Chief Specialist, Multilateral Cooperation Division, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, 42, Tshepkina St., Moscow, Russian Federation
Tel.: +7 495-631-92-09; Fax: +7 495-631-81-50; E-mail: BeznasyukSA@minenergo.gov.ru
Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI)
Mr. Jeong, Gue Jae
Research Fellow, Korea Energy Economics Institute, 665-1 Naeson-dong, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 437-713, Republic of Korea
Tel: (82 31) 420 2252; Fax: (82 31) 420 2163; E-mail: jgj1234@keei.re.kr
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Ms. Maritess Cabrera
Consultant, Energy Security Section, Environment and Development Division, ESCAP
UN Building. Rajadamnoen Avenue, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: (662) 288-1585; Fax: (662) 288-1048; E-mail: cabreram@un.org
