Asia-Pacific forum ends with commitment to energy security

The Asian and Pacific Energy Forum (APEF) closed here Thursday with the adoption of a declaration aimed at enhancing energy security in the region. The declaration would guide all concerned stakeholders in the region to move toward a more energy-secure region that would provide better security for people's lives, particularly the most vulnerable groups, said Shun-ichi Murata, deputy executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Some 140 representatives from more than 30 countries attended the four-day forum organized by ESCAP to discuss pan-region energy challenges. The next APEF forum will be hosted by Tonga in 2018.