Thailand ready to be green energy hub in ASEAN

PHNOM PENH, September 13 (TNA) - Thailand has eyed to become a green energy hub in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in the lead-up to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015. Thai Energy Minister Arak Chonthanon announced the move when attending a series of the ASEAN+3 Energy Ministerial Meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, on Wednesday, noting that Thailand is good at bio-energy, including biodiesel and ethanol, so the Kingdom has potential and is ready to be an ASEAN hub for bio-energy. Arak acknowledged that ASEAN member countries will increasingly cooperate on green energy in the lead-up to the formation of the AEC, and that Thailand will benefit from exports of the energy of this kind. ASEAN and the 10-nation-bloc's three key dialogue partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, met in Phnom Penh for a series of ASEAN+3 Energy Ministerial Meetings, which include the 30th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting, the 9th Meeting of Energy Ministers of the ASEAN Plus Three countries, and the 6th East Asian Summit Energy Ministers Meeting. When opening the regional meetings, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for the networking of green energy and for ASEAN member states to promote regional investment in energy projects, especially green energy projects. Hun Sen also proposed that nuclear power be a choice worth consideration but safety and public understanding are essential for its use. (TNA)