Photo 1. (left-right) Dir. Luningning G. Baltazar, Chair of the APG Consultative Committee (APGCC); H.E. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN; Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE; Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Southeast Asia Regional Director of AFD; H.E. Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to ASEAN; Philip Timothy Rose, Director of ETP-UNOPS

Photo 2. (left-right) H.E. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN; Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE; Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Southeast Asia Regional Director of AFD; H.E. Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to ASEAN; Philip Timothy Rose, Director of ETP-UNOPS

 Jakarta, 04 December 2025 — Agence française de développement (AFD) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) strengthen strategic cooperation to accelerate financing for the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) through signing of two (2) grant financing agreements at the 3^rd APG Stakeholders Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. The agreement between AFD and ACE was signed by Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Southeast Asia Regional Director of AFD and Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE. At the event, AFD also signed the grant financing agreement with ETP-UNOPS, represented by Philip Timothy Rose, Director of ETP-UNOPS. The signing ceremony was witnessed by H.E. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to ASEAN, and Dir. Luningning G. Baltazar, Chair of the APG Consultative Committee (APGCC).

The Grant Financing Agreement between AFD and ACE will facilitate support for the feasibility studies of a cross-border interconnection line to advance the development of the APG. As the beneficiary, ACE will implement the cooperation by working closely with the ASEAN Member States and the APG-Related Bodies through its role as the Secretariat of the APG. The feasibility study will continue the development of the APG as mandated through the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) and the ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS).

The AFD-ETP funding agreement comes in as an additional support to AFD’s existing contribution to ETP’s pooled funds. The funding will enable technical assistance to establish the ‘ASEAN School of Regulation’, a joint initiative between ETP, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. This initiative, endorsed by the ASEAN Energy Regulators’ Network (AERN), focuses on establishing a sustainable institution to equip energy regulators with the necessary capacity to facilitate cross-border power trade within the APG framework.

H.E. Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to ASEAN, said “We consider this project as very strategic. France, on its own, is vividly committed to supporting APG, but, as President Macron said last May during his visit to the ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta, we also believe we have to strengthen the alliance between Asia and Europe. In this regard, our partnership with ASEAN is instrumental and working on energy transition and connectivity is one of the most transformative tools for this partnership.”

Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE, said: “This cooperation marks a close Development Partnership between ASEAN and France. The APG stands as a priority for ASEAN to advance our energy goals towards a secure, affordable, and sustainable energy future. As the APG Secretariat, ACE welcomes France and AFD for a closer energy cooperation moving forward.”

Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Southeast Asia Regional Director of AFD, said: “Supporting the ASEAN connectivity and addressing climate change and environment has been AFD’s and France’s priorities since the start of our official ASEAN Development Partnership in 2020. AFD has been supporting several ASEAN Member States on energy transition. We have strong willingness to share France’s and Europe’s experience on the regional energy market and grid. Facilitating the ASEAN Power Grid through feasibility funding and capacity building is therefore the ideal engagement with the ASEC and ACE that AFD can undertake to advance ASEAN connectivity and energy transition.”

Philip Timothy Rose, Director of ETP-UNOPS, said: “As ETP enters its fifth year, we are advancing a new strategy that responds to the region’s evolving energy challenges and supports a more sustainable and equitable power system. AFD’s continued and generous support is instrumental in enabling us to drive progress on the ASEAN Power Grid and accelerate Southeast Asia’s energy transition.”

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ABOUT THE ASEAN CENTRE FOR ENERGY

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (“ACE” or the “Centre”) is an intergovernmental organisation driving multilateral energy cooperation and policy coordination among the ASEAN Member States. The Agreement on ASEAN Energy Cooperation in Manila, Philippines, on 22 May 1998, formally established ACE on 1 January 1999 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The formal establishment tasked ACE to serve as the regional energy think tank, catalyst, and knowledge hub to build coherent, coordinated, focused and robust energy policy agenda and strategy for ASEAN.

The three critical roles of ACE:

• To advance the ASEAN energy goals by unifying and strengthening the ASEAN energy cooperation and integration.
• To function as an energy data and knowledge hub by providing knowledge repository and services.
• To serve as an ASEAN energy think tank by assisting in research and practical solutions for the Member States.

Keeping the region’s improvement, sustainable and harmless to the ecosystem is a fundamental concern of the ASEAN energy sector. Hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, ACE’s office is located in Jakarta, Indonesia. For more information on ACE website: aseanenergy.org