Eastern and Western Europe have relied on oil and gas imports from Western Siberia for more than two decades. The abundant energy resources of the Russian Far East, however, have as yet to be developed for potential energy trade with nearby industrialized Far East Asian markets.

In November 2005, an Intergovernmental Collaborative Mechanism on Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia was established to facilitate energy cooperation and trade to enhance energy security in North-East Asia. The Intergovernmental Collaborative Mechanism was adopted by the first session of the Senior Officials Committee on Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia hosted by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of the Government of Mongolia.

Under this Mechanism, a Working Group on Energy Planning and Cooperation was established to identify possible future energy cooperation activities. As a first practical step, the Working Group will develop Country Reports on energy policies, data and statistics and identify information gaps. The Country Reports will also form the basis in identifying collaborative projects.