NEW DELHI (IRNA) -- Energy cooperation in the SAARC region is high on the agenda at the conference of South Asia Energy Dialogue here today.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Power, the dialogue focuses on reforms in energy sector, development of grid connectivity and gas pipelines, universal access to commercial energy, and development of hydroelectric potential, said an All India Radio (AIR) report here.

Union Minister of Power Sushil Kumar Shinde is to deliver the inaugural address, wherein energy-efficiency measures and harmonization of standards in the SAARC region are likely to be the dominant concern.

Experts, academics and representatives of various organizations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka participate in the dialogue.

At the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed a South Asia Energy Dialogue to recommend measures to tap vast and latent potential for energy cooperation.