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New Delhi / WAM
His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, has reaffirmed the commitment of the UAE to continue working with its international partners to launch ambitious initiatives and programmes to produce energy from clean and sustainable sources.
In his speech at the inaugural conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), organised on Sunday in New Delhi, Sheikh Hamed conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the UAE government and people, wishing participants success in their efforts.
The event was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, the leaders of the countries who took the initiative to launch the ISA, along with a number of senior officials and representatives of participating nations.
Sheikh Hamed said, “It gives me a great pleasure to praise the efforts made by the French presidency throughout recent years to mobilise global efforts aimed at addressing the issue of climate change and its contribution to finalising the historic Paris Agreement. I also appreciate the important role played by the Republic of India in forging new alliances to accelerate international efforts in this regard, at the forefront of which is the ISA, under whose umbrella we are honoured to meet today.”
He added, “The UAE has divided its efforts in this regards into two parallel tracks, the first of which is the development of the national solar sector through the establishment of world-class solar energy projects.” He referred, in particular, to the projects currently being implemented at the Zayed Renewable Energy Complex in Abu Dhabi and the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai with the total capacity of 5000 MW.
“With the projects currently being implemented and the future ones included in the ‘UAE Energy Strategy’, we are in a position to raise our ambitions to increase the contribution of the clean energy sources to the national energy sector to 27 percent by 2021 and 50 percent by 2050, thus reducing the cost of electricity production significantly,” he said.
The UAE’s efforts in developing renewable energy research and technologies have also contributed to the country’s presence as a key partner in many large renewable energy projects across the world, he pointed out. “We have so far invested, via Masdar, around $2.7 billion in renewable energy projects worldwide that cost about $8.5 billion and their total production capacity is about 2.7 GW,” he said.
Sheikh Hamed went on to say that the second track is to continue the UAE’s efforts to promote the use of renewable energy in the world, particularly in developing countries and islands, by providing sources of funding. “In this context, we would like to mention the initiative taken by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to earmark $350 million to support renewable energy projects in developing countries via the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), together with the assistance we provided through other channels. The aid allocated by the UAE for renewable energy projects has reached around $1 billion, placing it as the world’s largest donor in this regards in proportion to its gross national income,” he said.
The Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court noted that international cooperation is a fundamental pillar of the UAE’s foreign policy, adding, “We believe that concerted international efforts are one of the important keys to addressing the major challenges facing our world today, particularly climate challenges. Our presence as a founding member of the ISA and our ratification of the Framework Convention supports this policy.”
“I am very pleased to take this opportunity to affirm the UAE’s support for the realising of the ISA’s objectives and its efforts in mobilising the required funding to develop solar technologies, reducing their cost and increasing our reliance on them to achieve our common sustainable development goals,” Sheikh Hamed concluded.
UAE-India review trade, investment relations
New Delhi / WAM
His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, on Sunday met the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
The two sides discussed bilateral relations and ways to take forward cooperation between the two countries. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed and Prime Minister Modi reviewed bilateral ties in the trade and investment sectors between the two countries, and means of further developing them to contribute to diversifying the two nations’ economies.
Modi welcomed Sheikh Hamed’s visit to New Delhi, expressing his hope that this visit will contribute to strengthening the relations of cooperation and friendship between the two countries. He also praised the role the UAE has played in supporting projects and programmes for clean and sustainable energy.
During the meeting, Sheikh Hamed said that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, always looks forward to further advancing cooperation and networking opportunities, and establishing economic ties with India. He noted the UAE’s participation at the ISA Conference stems from the belief in the role sustainable energy can play in making a positive difference for nations and their citizens.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, and Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna, UAE Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to India.
UAE has a substantial experience in energy sector: Al Jaber
New Delhi / WAM
Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, has said that the UAE’s participation in the inaugural conference of the International Solar Alliance, ISA, confirms the country’s commitment to fruitful and positive cooperation to unify efforts with the international community to achieve sustainable development.
In a statement marking the UAE’s participation in the ISA Conference on Sunday, Dr. Al Jaber said that the country has a substantial experience in the energy sector. “Through the vision and directives of the UAE leadership, the country is working on ensuring energy security by creating a diversified mixture that includes traditional, renewable and peaceful nuclear energy. In addition to this mixture, the country is also exerting efforts on raising the efficiency and developing the performance of all its components by relying on innovation and the latest technologies and artificial intelligence in the different related fields,” he added.
The Minister of State noted that renewable resources, especially solar energy, constitute a supporting factor to traditional resources by contributing to fulfilling the growing demand for energy, especially during peak hours.
He affirmed that ISA is an important international platform for cooperation and progress in the promotion and application of solar energy technology, enhancement of access to energy and benefiting from its services in rural and remote areas.
Dr. Al Jaber noted that Masdar’s implementation of projects to promote renewable energy has had a major impact on improving the lives of millions of people around the world. He stressed that the directives of the wise leadership emphasise the continuation of efforts for the promotion of energy security, the backbone of all the activities and sectors of contemporary life.