Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Becomes Newest IEA Association Country
Singapore's Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) Monday, at the opening of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2016, announced that Singapore has become the latest IEA Association country.
"I am particularly happy to welcome Singapore into the IEA family. It is an important player both regionally and globally and has put in place strong policies to ensure secure, sustainable and competitive energy supply," said Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director
"We look forward to building even stronger ties between the IEA and Singapore, especially because it is in a strategic position to support the energy transition in Southeast Asia."
The IEA Association is noted to enable IEA to engage non-member countries on issues including energy security, energy data and statistics, and energy policy analysis, and provides non-member countries an opportunity to participate in various activities, such as IEA standing groups, committees, and Ministerial meetings.
With its new status as an IEA Association country, Singapore is said to be partnering with IEA on two new initiatives, including the hosting of a new Singapore-IEA regional training hub in order to provide energy training programmes for the development of industry-specific capabilities in the region, as well as a jointly organised Energy Efficiency Training Week in 2017, intended to provide energy efficiency practitioners with hands-on training.
Further, SIEW will be venue of the first Singapore-IEA Forum, intended to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to preview IEA initiatives and discuss the future of the industry.
"Singapore fully supports the IEA's new vision to expand its outreach to emerging economies, particularly in Asia," said S Iswaran, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry.
"This initiative will help build a more inclusive global energy architecture and is especially important as Asia grows in importance in the global economy and energy landscape. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with the IEA, underpinned by substantive activities for the benefit of all regional and international stakeholders."
