LIMA, Peru (Aug 16): Japan continues to show deep interest in investing in Malaysia’s energy sector, especially in the green hydrogen sector, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Fadillah, who is also the energy transition and water transformation minister, said Japan had already invested in Sarawak in the same industry, and that it would continue to support Malaysia in terms of investment.

In December last year, it was reported that Sarawak would be producing green hydrogen on a large scale mainly for the Japanese market under a tripartite agreement inked between the Sarawak Economic Development Corp (SEDC) and two Japanese firms. "They are asking for our support and cooperation for what they have to offer. We can't give a final decision [in this meeting]. I have to bring it back to get a decision at the government level," he said.

Fadillah told the media this after attending a courtesy visit session with four countries, namely Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei and Japan, in conjunction with his visit to Peru to attend the Energy Ministers Meeting, under the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), from Thursday to Friday.

He said the four countries are ready to support Malaysia's plans.

"What's more, next year we will be the Asean chair. The bilateral meeting we held on Thursday morning and afternoon was in that context. In the round-table session, each of the APEC countries gave their views on the topic that had been prepared, which was related to how we want to mobilise the strategies of the respective countries in relation to the energy transition, which is the supply of clean and renewable energy.

"And at the same time, [in switching] to this renewable and clean energy, how do we want to ensure the security of energy supply? Secondly, [we talked] in terms of safety, and thirdly, also to ensure that no party is left behind."

The meeting also discussed cooperation opportunities in the development of halal certification by Vietnam, the small and medium enterprise capacity development and investment by Singapore, and the organisation of the 3rd Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting by Malaysia in 2025.

Meanwhile, Fadillah said the issue of implementing third-party access (TPA) was also discussed in the meeting of energy ministers. "We will announce everything in September, in terms of the mechanism, and in terms of the rules, including the costing. Many are interested in TPA of the electricity supply industry. So, we will have an industrial dialogue on Aug 22. From there, we will get feedback from industry players," he added.

The 14th APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting (EMM14) at the Lima Convention Center, hosted by Peru, brought together energy ministers from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss strategies to drive the energy transition.

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