Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and the Southeast Asia SmartPowerꦐ Programme (SPP) under the United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID) on June 22 signed an🔥 agreement to advanceregional clean energy priorities.

The signing ceremony took place within the framework of the14th ASEAN-US Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME-US) held at theheadquarters of the ASEAN Secretariat, emphasising the strong commitment ofASEAN member states to promote clean energy transition in the region. Earlier, speaking atthe opening of the 41st ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME),Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif called oncountries to join international organisations and stakeholders to support andcooperate to foster innovative partnerships, inclusive finance, and access tothe necessary and effective technologies to accelerate the energy transition. For his part, Director General of Electricity of the Indonesian Ministryof Energy and Mineral Resources Jisman Hutajulu highly appreciated the ASEAN-USpartnership agreement on supporting sustainable energy development. Heemphasised the need to tap into the abundant and diverse energy resources inthe ASEAN region to meet the growing demand. According to Jissman, the partnership with USAID through theSPP will help ACE strengthen the region's electricity system by promotingenergy trade and increasing the deployment of clean energy technologies. Thispartnership reflects ASEAN's commitment to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)and the ASEAN Action Plan on Energy Cooperation (APAEC), towards a sustainableenergy future. Through this partnership, ACE and USAID aim to accelerate theimplementation of APAEC Phase 2 (2021-2025) for the sustainable energytransition in the region. ACE Chief Executive Officer Nuki Agya Utama affirmed thatthis three-year partnership is pivotal to achieving the region's 2025 goals andequips ACE with the tools and resources needed to accelerate the implementationof APAEC, thereby promoting clean and reliable energy, as well as efforts tocombat climate change. Nuki said that the partnership agreement with USAID-SPP alsomarks an important milestone in ACE's efforts to accelerate the transitiontowards a sustainable and resilient energy future in Southeast Asia, andaffirms ACE's commitment to driving positive change and creating a lastingimpact on the region's energy transition./.