Minister Muto Visits Malaysia and Co-hosts the Third AZEC Ministerial Meeting with the Malaysian Government

1. Third Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting

The Third AZEC Ministerial Meeting took place, bringing together representatives of all 11 AZEC partner countries and international organizations. As representatives of Japan, Minister Muto, Mr. Kobayashi Fumiaki, State Minister of the Environment, and Mr. Yamada Takio, Ambassador in charge of AZEC, attended the meeting.

Minister Muto provided a briefing on the initiatives and achievements of AZEC over the past year, including the publication of a report on transition finance, advancements in individual projects, the development of a progress report, and the enhancement of dialogues among working-level officials and between the two countries. State Minister Kobayashi provided a briefing on the efforts by the Ministry of the Environment.

Participants from the governments of partner countries explained their efforts for realizing net-zero emissions, including the importance of various pathways tailored to the situations of the respective countries, energy transition policies, decarbonization in the power, transport, and industry sectors, and transition finance.

Representatives of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) presented progress reports summarizing national efforts and challenges in the power, transport, and industry sectors, along with its support for roadmap development toward decarbonization. The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Energy Agency (IEA) also provided briefings on their related activities.

In addition, representatives of the AZEC Advocacy Group provided a briefing on its joint recommendation and handed it over to the chairpersons.

As an outcome of the meeting, participating ministers adopted a joint statement reflecting on the achievements of the past year.

2. MOU ceremony

In preparation for the ministerial meeting, we confirmed and released about 50 new memorandums of understanding (MOUs) related to energy transition toward decarbonization signed among companies and relevant organizations from AZEC partner countries. In addition, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) signed a memorandum of cooperation on CCS with the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia, and another on energy cooperation with the Department of Energy of the Republic of the Philippines. With the addition of these new MOUs this year, the total number of projects under AZEC has reached approximately 540.

3. Bilateral meetings

(1) Meeting with H.E. Mr. Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia

The two sides confirmed their intention to deepen cooperation in hydrogen and green technologies, reviewed the progress of mono-firing ammonia combustion projects and other relevant projects, and agreed to advance cooperation in order to further accelerate progress. In addition, METI signed a memorandum of cooperation on CCS with the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia.

(2) Meeting with H.E. Ms. Sharon Garin, Secretary of Energy of the Philippines

Minister Muto expressed his heartfelt sympathy regarding the recent earthquake in Cebu. The two sides agreed to advance cooperation toward the next AZEC Ministerial Meeting, as the Philippines is set to serve as ASEAN Chair next year. In addition, METI signed a memorandum of cooperation on energy cooperation with the Department of Energy of the Philippines.

Reference

1. AZEC Business Forum

The AZEC Business Forum took place, bringing together over 300 business leaders from the economic sector and international organizations. Representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, Keidanren, the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), TNB, Petronas and other industry-leading companies and organizations gathered to engage in lively discussion on the development of international power grids in Southeast Asia, sustainable biofuels for vehicles, and transition finance.

In addition, the forum featured the launch of two reports: a joint publication by ADB, ERIA, and METI titled Decarbonising Southeast Asia’s Hard-to-Abate and High-Emitting Sectors: Transition Finance, Technologies, and Policy Approaches, and a report by the IEA titled Scaling Up Transition Finance.

2. CEFIA

(1) CEFIA (Cleaner Energy Future Initiative for ASEAN) is a public-private initiative proposed by the Government of Japan to advance the deployment and adoption of decarbonization technologies and the establishment of related policies and systems through collaboration between the public and private sectors with the aim of promoting the introduction of clean energy technologies in the ASEAN region. It began its initiatives in September 2019.

(2) The 8th CEFIA Government-Private Forum took place on Friday, October 17, bringing together stakeholders from the governments, companies, and financial institutions of Japan and ASEAN countries.

(3) At the forum, representatives of participating companies and industrial associations engaging in specific projects (flagship projects) that have been conducted under CEFIA provided briefings on the progress and future outlook of each project. In addition, Japan introduced its advanced technologies and initiatives in the fields of transition finance, carbon recycling, and biofuels, followed by active discussions on the future direction of public-private collaboration.

3. AZEC Advocacy Group Recommendation Signing Ceremony

The AZEC Advocacy Group, a body consisting of business leaders of Keidanren and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council as well as representatives of ERIA, held a recommendation signing ceremony. The group compiled a recommendation for decarbonization under the AZEC framework, which was handed over to the chairpersons at the 3rd AZEC Ministerial Meeting, along with a briefing on the content of the document.

Related Materials

• The 3rd Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting Joint Statement(PDF:172KB)
• Terms of Reference AZEC Energy Transition Review for Enhancing Cooperation(PDF:139KB)
• AZEC Progress Report 2025(PDF:8,606KB)
• ERIA-ADB-METI Joint Transition Finance Report(PDF:4,141KB)
• IEA Transition Finance Report(PDF:4,389KB)
• List of MOU Projects towards 3rd AZEC Ministerial Meeting(PDF:60KB)
• MOUs towards 3rd AZEC Ministerial Meeting(PDF:9,500KB)
• List of the AZEC-related Projects in the Global South Future-Oriented Co-Creation Project in Japan(PDF:222KB)
• Joint Recommendation by the AZEC Advocacy Group(PDF:380KB)

Related Link

• 8th CEFIA Government-Private Forum Held (in Japanese)

Divisions in Charge

• 
  Information on the visit as a whole

  Asia and Pacific Division, Trade Policy Bureau

• Information on the AZEC Ministerial Meeting and related events

  International Affairs Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy