Joint Media Statement Ministerial Interface Meeting on Financial Mechanisms for the ASEAN Power Grid

14 August 2025, Virtual Meeting

1. The Ministerial Interface Meeting on Financial Mechanisms for the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) was convened virtually on 14 August 2025 as a high-level cross-sectoral platform to advance regional cooperation and financing of the APG. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof, Chair of the ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM), and co-chaired by H.E. Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Chair of the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM); H.E. Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan and H.E. Dato’ Sri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, Co-Chairs of the ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM). The meeting was attended by all ASEAN Member States, with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat. Timor-Leste attended as an observer.

2. The Meeting served as a strategic policy dialogue to harmonise sectoral priorities in support of a more integrated, sustainable, and resilient energy future of ASEAN. The Meeting underscored the APG as an enabler of regional energy security, economic competitiveness, sustainable industrial growth, narrowing the development gap, and enhanced energy connectivity that deepens regional integration, attracts investment, and drives inclusive economic development across ASEAN.
   
   
3. The Meeting reaffirmed and endorsed the APG’s role in advancing the ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future through strengthening multilateral power trade. The Meeting recognised the shared benefits of multilateral power trade to all parties by accelerating ASEAN’s energy transitions through investments in renewable energy projects, unlocking the region’s abundant renewable energy potential, enhancing energy security, and integrating the region’s renewable energy. These efforts are expected to strengthen regional economic resilience, thus contributing to a more competitive ASEAN economy.
   
   
4. The Meeting also recognised and supported the existing power interconnection projects, such as the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines Power Integration Project (BIMP-PIP), as part of APG realisation. The meeting anticipated the upcoming signing of the enhanced APG Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the endorsement of the Terms of Reference for the Subsea Power Cable Development Framework in 2025, which will further strengthen the APG’s governance and operational framework.
   
   
5. To accelerate the realisation of APG, the Ministers noted the potential role of the ASEAN Power Grid Financing Initiative (APGF), being developed with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB), as an important financing coordination initiative in realising the APG by 2045 as well as ASEAN Member States’ commitments towards the 2030 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Ministers welcomed the proposed APGF, envisioning it as a coordinating platform to support project and financing preparation, as well as blended capital mobilisation to accelerate bankable cross-border land and subsea interconnection projects.
   
   
6. The Meeting recognised that mobilising greater investment in regional cross-border energy infrastructure will require consistent policies, coherent regulatory frameworks, and a robust pipeline of projects. The Ministers called for better coordination among multilateral development banks (MDBs), other potential financial institutions and private sector capital (potentially through the APGF), and public and private sector project developers to ensure that financing needs for APG project development are met efficiently. In addition, Ministers urged the private sectors, financial institutions, philanthropic investors and other key stakeholders including MDBs to proactively contribute to advancing the APG and the region’s wide energy transition through the mobilisation of green finance, specialised expertise, innovative technologies and necessary resources.
   
   
7. The Meeting welcomed the proposal by the ADB, WB, ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) to jointly lead the APGF, with the objective of mobilising financing and providing technical support for cross-border power interconnection projects. The ADB and WB will extend technical assistance for project preparation and capacity building, and will offer a range of financial instruments, including equity, grants, concessional and regular loans, guarantees, and political risk cover, along with advisory services on public–private partnerships (PPP). The Ministers noted that the identification of priority interconnection projects should be guided by the specific needs and development priorities of AMS, and the ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS), to ensure that support provided through the APGF delivers tangible and inclusive benefits across the region. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to furthering national efforts in line with the support from the ADB and WB for ASEAN’s regional energy transitions programmes.
   
   
8. The Meeting noted the strong financial support to be provided by the ADB and the WB in advancing the APG agenda. It welcomed ADB’s readiness to invest up to US$10 billion of its own resources over the next decade in support of the APG, including cross-border interconnections, and other APG-related investments (domestic grid strengthening and renewable energy for power export). The Meeting also welcomed investment from the WB through its US$2.5 billion "Accelerating Sustainable Energy Transition Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach (ASET-MPA)" program, approved in 2024 to ramp up renewable energy and promote power trade across the region. In welcoming these financing commitments, the Ministers stressed the need for AMS to assess and strengthen their respective regulatory environment and planning framework on an ongoing basis to integrate these investments in a feasible and impactful way.
   
   
9. The Ministers acknowledged the establishment of the APGF Working Group (APGF WG), comprising ADB, WB, ASEC, and ACE to coordinate project support, assessment, and reporting for the APGF. APGF WG will act as the main platform connecting utilities and project sponsors with financing partners. The Meeting further noted the planned establishment of the Partnership for ASEAN Connectivity on Energy (PACE) as a forum for development partners, international financial institutions, commercial banks, and donors to coordinate support, address financing barriers, and share progress. Together, APGF WG and PACE will strengthen regional collaboration and accelerate delivery of the APG.
   
   
10. The Meeting tasked ASEC and ACE to work closely with ADB and WB, as the APGF WG members, under the supervision of relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies, in particular the Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME), ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting (AFCDM) and Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (SEOM), to monitor and advance the implementation of the APGF in coordination with national and regional frameworks. The Ministers looked forward to the official announcement of the APGF during the 43rd AMEM in October 2025, as one of the Energy Annual Priorities for 2025 and a financing platform under the AEC agenda.
    
    
11. The Meeting adopted this Joint Media Statement as a collective declaration of ASEAN’s intention to accelerate regional energy connectivity through cross-sectoral collaboration, coordinated policy efforts, and innovative financing solutions in support of a sustainable, secure, and interconnected ASEAN energy future through the APG.

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