APEC members discuss energy security at South Korean meeting: Report

Pacific Rim countries began a two-day, closed-door conference Wednesday in Seoul to discuss ways of safeguarding their energy supplies, AP reported.

The massive blackout in Canada and the United States in October has increased attention to energy security around the world. The APEC Energy Working Group meeting brings together the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, which collectively account for 60 per cent of global energy demand.

The forum aims to ensure efficient and secure access to energy for member countries, discuss cross-border power grids and oil pipelines, and create new business and job opportunities through co-operation, group chairman John Ryan said in a news release.

"The EWG has undertaken a project to identify and overcome political, technical, economic, regulatory, treaty, legal and financing barriers to interconnection of electricity grids," Ryan said.

Other topics will include sharing energy supply data, earthquake response co-operation and developing a framework for discussing nuclear energy issues.

Calls for strengthening energy security in the region came during a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001. During the summit, the leaders launched the APEC Energy Security Initiative to examines measures to respond to temporary supply disruptions and longer-term challenges facing the region's energy supply.

APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand the United States and Vietnam. (*)