The UNESCAP-ECO Regional Consultation Meeting on the implementation of the project “Energy connectivity for sustainable development” was convened in virtual mode on April 2, 2024.
The meeting brought together over sixty participants from a wide range of stakeholders, including the representatives of government agencies, regulators and utilities from the ECO Member States, international organizations and IFIs (World Bank, ADB), as well as other development partners.
Mr. Matthew Wittenstein, Chief of Energy Connectivity Section of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in his opening remarks of the meeting, emphasized the need for combining efforts within the ongoing “Energy Connectivity for Sustainable Development” project for unlocking significant sustainable energy resources of the ECO Region.
In his remarks, Dr. Fuad Farzalibeyov, Director of Energy, Minerals and Environment of the ECO Secretariat expressed hope that the project will pave the way for promoting ECO’s flagship energy project of ECO Regional Electricity Market (ECO-REM, and called upon the Member States to proactively engage in all activities within these projects.
The participants further exchanged views on the current status and plans for national power sector development, identification of gaps, challenges and potential for establishing multilateral and multi-directional electricity trade and connectivity linked to renewable energy sources, its major challenges and benefits for the region, as well as next steps for its development. The meeting concluded that a continuous dialogue among all stakeholders is imperative to shape the regional electricity market and underscored the importance of the Roadmap with a set of recommendations as a key deliverable of the energy connectivity project.
