Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tareq al-Mulla said Egypt succeeded in turning challenges to the energy sector into success stories in seven years.
Speaking at a session on moving forward to support low-carbon development pathways in Africa and developing countries within the proceedings of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh city, the minister said that the African continent has diverse natural resources that can be exploited to diversify the appropriate energy mix that meets the needs of the peoples of the continent and at the same time reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
International partnerships in Africa will allow technology transfer and link local partners with it, Mulla said, stressing the importance of building a good work system in the oil, gas, electricity and renewable energy domains.
He also underlined that African countries should provide incentives to partners to lure investments and promote the private sector’s contribution.
For his part, President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi A. Adesina lauded Egypt’s efforts in organizing the conference, saying the AfDB is committed to provide dlrs 5 million to implement new and renewable energy projects.
Africa possesses 45% of the world’s renewable energy resources, which makes it eligible to establish giant solar energy projects, Adesina added.
He further noted that the Bank directed its investments in this regard and directs investors to finance power generation and clean energy projects.
The private sector plays a key role in development projects in the field of power generation, particularly in Africa, he added.
He cited the experiment of Kenya, which managed to attract large investments, amounting to dlrs 21 billion in the oil, gas, new and renewable energy domains in a short time.
During the session, Mohamed el Sewedy, the chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, said Egypt is the linchpin of efforts aimed at building a regional power capable of changing reality.
Egypt has promising industries that could catch up with China, he added.
The Managing Director of Siemens, Helmut von Struve, said that this year’s edition of the global climate conference provided an opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities towards decarbonization and find sustainable solutions that are environmentally friendly.
He stressed the importance of supporting African countries towards a low carbon economy and providing the necessary technical support, particularly for developing countries.
He also underlined the importance of the role played by the private sector to shore up efforts to confront climate change at different levels.
