Regional Cooperation on Energy Securities in South/Central Asia

About the Initiative

Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) has taken up the initiative to understand the current scenario of regional cooperation among Southern and Central Asian countries in energy sector and propose the way ahead to harmonise the regulatory mechanism within the region to encourage trade, investment and knowledge sharing for energy cooperation. The purpose is to achieve a consensus and build awareness among the government departments, ministries, businesses, civil society organisations and other organizations/agencies for regional energy integration.

As part of the initiative, CUTS is organising a series of conferences with support & partnership with relevant partners, such as Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Sustainable Development Policy Initiative (SDPI), South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SWATEE) etc. with the aim to create a platform for dialogue among relevant stakeholders to achieve greater cooperation, coordination and integration for sharing of energy resources.

The first event in the series was organised in Islamabad, Pakistan on May 22, 2014, with focus on ‘Trans-boundary Cooperation in the Energy Sector in South and Central Asia’, especially between Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

The second event is scheduled on August 07-08, 2014 in Kolkata, India involving countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. The purpose is to initiate dialogues among the South Asian state and non-state actors on regional cooperation for energy security within the region. Further, it will dwell into the viability of current projects as well as the future initiatives and policies with the triggers and barriers to regional integration. Idea is also to discuss the strategic role of India due to its geographical presence within the region.

The third phase of this event would be organised in Kathmandu, followed by a session on ‘Regional Cooperation for Energy Security in South Asia’ at the South Asia Economic Summit, which will be held in New Delhi in early November.