Deputy Foreign Minister To Deliver Msia's Statement At ACD Ministerial Meeting In Abu Dhabi

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Deputy Foreign Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican will deliver the country's statement at the plenary session of the 15th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) tomorrow (Jan 17). Foreign Ministry, in a statement Monday said Reezal Merican would be leading Malaysia's delegation to the ACD themed "Sustainable Energy", with the focus of its discussions expected to be on energy and sustainable development issues. He will be accompanied by senior officials from the Foreign Ministry and experts from the Energy Commission and Sustainable Energy Development Authority. "Energy efficiency is important to Malaysia as our economy grows and the demand for power rises," said the Foreign Ministry. The Malaysian government had undertaken rigorous efforts to decarbonise its economy and various initiatives had and were being implemented across the broad sectors of the economy towards achieving energy efficiency and sustainable development, it said. The ministry said the participation of its deputy minister at the meeting reflected Malaysia’s continued commitment to strengthen the ACD as an effective pan-Asian regional forum. Established in 2002, the ACD is a platform that seeks to consolidate Asian strengths and competitiveness by maximising on the diverse strengths and rich resources in Asia. The ACD comprises 34 member countries from all five sub-regions of Asia. "Malaysia plays an active role in the ACD and has taken on the role as ACD co-prime mover for the education and human resource development priority pillar," said Foreign Ministry. As co-prime mover, Malaysia had established the Asia-e-University in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, which served to facilitate regional cooperation among member countries, especially in the field of e-education, it said. Foreign Ministry said the ministers would also review the progress of the implementation of decisions taken at the Second ACD Summit held in 2016 in Bangkok, and deliberate on the future direction of the ACD. The ministers were also expected to adopt three outcome documents, namely, the Concept Paper on Energy, Water and Food Nexus, ACD Energy Action Plan, and the Abu Dhabi Declaration, it said. "The three outcome documents are envisaged to reinforce the commitments among the ACD Member States in the field of energy and sustainable development whilst enhancing future cooperation and partnerships among the ACD members," it said. The ministry said Reezal Merican would also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts at the margins of the summit, to discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. -- BERNAMA