The U.S. National Energy Dominance Council will convene the first Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo on March 14 and 15, the U.S. embassy in Tokyo said on Sunday. The two-day event will be organized in partnership with Japan and bring together government representatives and industry figures to discuss energy security in the region.
Traveling to Tokyo next month to take part in the meetings will be Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, according to the embassy announcement. The notice identified Burgum as the council's chairman and Wright as its vice-chairman.
The forum is expected to include government leaders from nearly a dozen Indo-Pacific countries. In addition, business executives from sectors identified in the announcement - energy, infrastructure, industrial and finance - will attend, providing a mix of public- and private-sector perspectives on the agenda of energy security.
The embassy statement framed the gathering as both a ministerial and a business forum, signaling simultaneous diplomatic and commercial engagement on matters tied to energy supply and cooperation across the Indo-Pacific. It noted the participation of senior U.S. officials without providing further details on the full roster of attending countries or an agenda beyond the broad focus on energy security.
The announcement also referenced an exchange in October in which Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told U.S. President Donald Trump that banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports would be difficult. That remark is included in the embassy notice as a point of context related to regional energy policy conversations.
Organizers have positioned the gathering as the inaugural meeting of the council's Indo-Pacific forum. The embassy's communication offered the date, locations and principal U.S. participants, while other specifics about speakers, session topics and final attendee lists were not provided in the announcement.
Summary
The National Energy Dominance Council and Japan will host the first Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo on March 14 and 15. Senior U.S. cabinet officials, including the council chairman and vice-chairman, will attend alongside government leaders and private-sector executives from multiple industries to discuss energy security among nearly a dozen Indo-Pacific nations.
Key points
- The forum will take place in Tokyo on March 14-15 and is co-hosted by the U.S. council and Japan.
- Senior U.S. officials attending include Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (chairman) and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (vice-chairman), along with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin.
- Government representatives from nearly a dozen Indo-Pacific countries and business executives from the energy, infrastructure, industrial and finance sectors are expected to participate.
Risks and uncertainties
- The announcement does not list the full roster of participating countries, creating uncertainty about the precise composition of the regional delegation and which governments will engage at ministerial level - this affects diplomatic and policy outcomes around energy discussions.
- The embassy notice does not provide a detailed agenda or session topics, leaving unclear what specific energy security measures or commitments might be advanced at the forum - this affects expectations for policy or commercial follow-through.
- A prior statement referenced in the announcement, in which Japan's prime minister said banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports would be difficult, highlights practical constraints on certain policy options that could influence the scope of discussion at the forum and affect energy and related markets.