On 4 April 2018, H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, delivered remarks at the opening of the 2^nd Asian and Pacific Energy Forum (APEF), co-hosted by the Ministry of Energy of Thailand and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Delegations from more than 50 countries in Asia and the Pacific have participated in this high - level meeting with 16 ministerial heads of the delegations, among which are from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, China, Laos PDR, Republic of Korea and Russia.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs accentuated the importance of Sustainable Development Goal 7 or SDG7 (affordable and clean energy) and its interlinkages to the success of other SDGs especially in the era of energy transition where the world dominated by fossil fuel has gradually been transformed into the world driven by cleaner energy. In this connection, some key elements that Thailand finds crucial for realizing SDG7 are (1) energy diversification, (2) integrated energy policy, as embedded in Thailand’s Integrated Energy Blueprint, and the Energy 4.0 Policy which is coherent with Thailand 4.0 Economic Model and (3) partnership at national, regional and global levels. In terms of cooperation in energy connectivity, the ASEAN and Greater Mekong Subregion programmes are among the most advanced in the region and a good example of mutually beneficial partnership. Thailand has also closely cooperated with neighboring countries to ensure energy security in the region.

The Asian and Pacific Energy Forum is convened every five year and the 2^nd Forum aims to focus on the region’s implementation of SDG7. The Forum reviews the progress achieved in the Asia-Pacific region in addressing energy security challenges, assesses the outlook based on scenarios and discusses the policy options for keeping the region on track towards SDG7, which will be one of the six SDGs to be reviewed in depth during the High - Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF2018) to be held in New York this July.