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The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the forum was held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 20th November 2006. The meeting and Thematic (2 Day) Training Program was attended by 54 delegates from 15 regulatory organizations of 13 countries and the representatives of the World Bank, AusAid and Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC).
The AGM started with the introduction speech by Mr Apurva Sanghi from the World Bank, on the achievements of EAPIRF in the last few years and the way forward. He emphasized that the EAPIRF should design and conduct its Core Training Program on basic infrastructure regulation for the regulators in the EAP region. He also stressed that EAPIRF needed to become self sustainable, through membership fees and sponsorship funds.
This speech was followed by opening remarks from Mr. Thomas Abe, Chairman, EAPIRF, about the forum’s activities in the last 1 year.
Mr. Gerhard Zieroth, Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) discussed the programs being taken up by his organization in the Pacific region and the role EAPIRF can play in training the regulatory community of the region.
An overview of the key activities of EAPIRF in the year 2006 was provided by the Secretariat as discussed below.
Click here to download the presentation made at the AGM
EAPIRF website: A detailed presentation was given on various new and updated features of the website. The website now provides regular updates on training opportunities. A monthly newsletter is circulated to the members, containing the latest regulatory news from the EAP region and worldwide. The forum is conducting periodical online discussions and inviting views from members on issues in infrastructure regulation through its Q&A Board.
The key features of the website include –
- Updated Homepage with links to important sections of the website
- Resources (e-library): Papers, Links, Monthly Updates and Newsletter
- Training Opportunities
- About EAPIRF
- Search Facility
- Regulator in Focus
- Country and Regulatory Profiles
- Discussion Board and Q&A Board
To know more about the features of the website, please click here to download the presentation made at the AGM
The following points were noted in the discussion –
- Website should be made available to all the users without any restriction in the form of user id and password
- EAPIRF members will regularly provide information about their activities and provide other inputs, which will be updated on the website.
- Members need to actively participate in forum activities like Online Discussions and Q&A Board to gain maximum advantage from the Forum
Meetings and Training: Training opportunities available to regulators in the region are constantly being updated on the website. EAPIRF is in the process of contacting training organizations to become partners with the Forum, for providing training courses in infrastructure regulation.
- The forum intends to conduct an annual Thematic Training Program. The first training program was conducted with this AGM on “Universal Service Obligation”. The themes selected for the next 2 years are –
- Competition topics (2007)
- Information for regulation (2008)
EAPIRF will be conducting its first Core Training Program in the year 2007. The program is proposed to be for a 2 week duration and will focus on the basic skills development in the economic regulation of infrastructure and basic approaches to regulation. The course will cover the economic principles and techniques for revenue and tariff regulation focusing on the training needs identified in the Training Needs Survey. The course is being designed keeping in view the distinct requirements of regulators in the EAP region The EAPIRF seeks to identify and to assist twinning opportunities between the regulators. All the members are requested to express their interest for this engagement by sending a mail to the Secretariat (secretariat@eapirf.org)
Funding: EAPIRF will seek funding for its operations from two sources –
- Invite new membership for the forum.Existing as well as new members will have to necessarily pay the reduced annual fees of US$ 1500 for the year 2007. These members will play the central role in designing the programs of the forum.
- EAPIRF will invite sponsorship for its training programs from governments, bilateral and funding agencies.
The AGM and Thematic Training Program ended with the concluding remarks by Mr. Peter Kelley from and a vote of thanks by Mr. Thomas Abe. They acknowledged the successful completion of the first EAPIRF Thematic Training Program on “Universal Service Obligation” and appreciated the active participation of the regulatory community in the EAP region.
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