Africa-Press – Mauritius. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aiming to develop a cooperation framework between the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities and the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, in the field of electricity and renewable energy, was signed, this afternoon, in the presence of the Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Maneesh Gobin, at the Newton Tower, Port Louis.
The signatories were the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard, and the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi.
The Chargé d’affaires of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mrs Noran Abdelhakam Mohamed Aly, and other eminent personalities were also present at the virtual signature ceremony. In his address, Minister Lesjongard recalled that the first bilateral agreement signed with the Arab Republic of Egypt was in 1972.
Since, he affirmed, Mauritius has been benefitting from numerous projects including the provision of short training courses to upgrade the know-how and skills of government officials in the energy and water sectors.
The Energy and Public Utilities Minister moreover indicated that the power sector needs to be metamorphosed into a low-carbon one to reduce Mauritius’ susceptibility to external shocks such as the surging fossil fuel prices.
In the same vein, he elaborated on the country’s target to achieve 60 % of its renewable energy production in the national energy mix as well as to phase out coal utilisation by 2030. Mr Lesjongard also proposed a joint collaboration to tap into the hydrogen energy.
Furthermore, Minister Lesjongard articulated the critical areas of collaboration as stipulated in the MoU, including the provision of technical support, the exchange of experiences and expertise, training and capacity building, and private sector investment in the production, storage and distribution of green power.
These, he asserted, will help significantly in meeting Mauritius’ environmental pledges to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He further added that the deployment of green technologies will result in job creation adding that the smartening of the electricity grid is being undertaken by the Central Electricity Board.
As for Minister Gobin, he reiterated how the existing strong bilateral relations have translated into valuable agreements. He, however, conveyed his wish to restore trade balance with the Arab Republic of Egypt.
For his part, Minister El-Markabi expressed his appreciation for the progress made by Mauritius with regard to the energy sector. This cooperation, he stated, will boost energy efficiency and electricity supply in both nations. In addition, he mentioned that a needs assessment will be carried out to set action plans for the future.
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