Myanmar is at a critical juncture today, needing energy to continue its rapid economic growth and provide for the millions of its rural poor while at the same time facing the challenge of developing new energy resources in a more sustainable manner.

In order to enhance the decision making capacity of Myanmar Government officials, the Overseas Human Resource and Industry Development Association (HIDA) of Japan is conducting an Energy Policy Workshop in Nay Pyi Taw.Organized in six thematic sessions over a stretch of six months, the main objective of the workshop is to empower the mid- to senior-level government officials to submit sustainable energy policy proposals to the National Energy Management Committee (NEMC) of Myanmar.

As part of the second delivery of the training session which took place on 29 September-1 October, Dr. Venkatachalam Anbumozhi of ERIA made a presentation on "ASEAN Energy Outlook and International Cooperation" and facilitated the group discussion on "Building Road Maps for Sustainable Energy Future". During his presentation, Dr. Anbumozhi quotedsome of ERIA's research findings andexplained how South East Asia has emerged as a key player in the global energy system. He emphasized the need for technical and economic cooperation at different levels to harness the full potentials of available resources in a sustainable way. In the latter part of the program, the 52 participants from six different ministries of Myanmar were divided into five groups wherein they exchanged sectoral policy experiences and identified barriers to implement cross-border clean energy projects.

The final session of this workshop being implemented by HIDA will be on the subject of policy proposalsand is slated to be held on 5 February 2015 in Nay Pyi Taw.