Phnom Penh, Cambodia - The 30th Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) was held in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, on September 12 and 13 and was based on the theme, 'Green Energy Connectivity'.

The launching ceremony took place at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh and was officiated by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

Prior to the ceremony, during a private gathering between the Prime Minister and Energy Ministers attending the 30th AMEM, the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office, Pehin Datu Singamanteri Col (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awg Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar in his capacity as the outgoing AMEM Chairman, spoke on behalf of Asean ministers responsible for energy.

In his address, Pehin Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awg Haji Mohammad Yasmin said the theme of the gathering flows nicely in place in regard to 'Mean Connectivity', which was the theme for the 29th AMEM hosted by Brunei Darussalam in September 2011.

The new theme reflects the commitment of Asean energy ministers in mapping out key strategies and actions toward enhancing physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity in the region as aspired by Asean leaders and enshrined in the Master Plan for Asean Connectivity.

He "added that discussions had been held over many challenging issues such as market integration, harmonisation of standards, regulatory frameworks, energy security and sustainable developments. As always, the minister highlighted that all challenges can be overcome through the spirit of cooperation and brotherhood among Asean and in cooperation with Asean's dialogue partners.

The minister stated that the achievements of AMEM have been acquired through hard work and continuous support from all member states, dialogue partners, the Asean Secretariat, ACE, various specialised bodies and sub-sector networks. AMEM is held annually with Asean member states taking turn to chair the meetings.

Apart from the Asean ministers responsible for energy the meetings were also attended by energy ministers representing the East Asean Summit (EAS) - Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russian Federation and the United States of America - as well as international bodies such as the IEA (International Energy Agency), ERIA (Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia) and IEEJ (Institute of Energy Economics of Japan).

Also in attendance were the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Shaikh Haji Fadilah Shaikh Haji Ahmad; Permanent Secretary (Downstream and Power) at the Prime Minister's Office, Haji Jamain bin Haji Julaihi; and officials from the Energy Department.

The 31st AMEM is scheduled to be held in September 2013 on the island of Bali, Indonesia.