BD welcomes Japan-led energy initiative for Asian region

FE Team | Published: April 16, 2026 00:18:42

Bangladesh on Wednesday welcomed a Japan-led initiative to deal with energy issues in an efficient way in the Asian region, noting that all countries need to come together as no country can solve it alone.
"We need to come together to build a cooperation framework that will support all of us in this crisis, in particular in Asia," Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman joined the online meeting at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
The Japanese Prime Minister announced the launch of "Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia)," a new cooperation framework consisting of both emergency responses and structural ones with mid-to-long-term perspectives.
The leaders of the participating countries said they will collaborate to address the current challenges together.
Adviser Kobir said the Prime Minister was invited as an important partner, noting that the Prime Minister holds one of the largest democratic mandates in the world.
He said the meeting mainly discussed the current energy crisis and concerns. "We cannot solve the issues of this crisis alone. So, we need all of us in the Asia Pacific to come together and find ways."
AZEC partner countries are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Republic of Korea, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, International Energy Agency (IEA), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
The online meeting was attended by leaders of the Asian region, including partners of the Asia Zero-Emission Community (AZEC).
Bangladesh is seeking to mobilise US$2 billion from development partners to meet our immediate energy needs and safeguard our economic stability and has urged the international community to respond swiftly and positively to this call.
At the meeting, participants acknowledged that Asia is the most affected region by disruption in the supply of energy resources via the Strait of Hormuz, and concurred on the importance of ensuring safe passage through the Strait, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Given that Asian economies are deeply interconnected via supply chains, they concurred on the importance of joint efforts by Asian countries.
Participating countries welcomed "Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia)"at the meeting to further strengthen regional supply resilience in energy and resources.
AZEC partners confirmed the importance of evolving the existing AZEC by incorporating the perspective of economic and energy resilience.