African leaders urge global investments in continent’s wind energy sector

The presidents of Senegal, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone said here Monday that Africa is offering big opportunities for global investments in the continent’s sustainable energy.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the seventh World Future Energy Summit held in Abu Dhabi, Senegalese President Macky Sall said that Africa has the world’s biggest potential in solar power, wind energy, biomass energy and hydro-energy.

However, he added that the continent faces many obstacles in this regard and that “African nations should intensify cooperation and enhance cross-border solutions in order to increase the use of renewable energy.”

Supporting Sall’s views, Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome said that seven of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies are located in Africa.

“Our trans-national partnerships include our neighbors Sudan, Djibouti, South Sudan and even Yemen, albeit the latter is not part of Africa. We also have a wind and thermal energy partnership with Congo,” Teshome added.

For his part, Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Koroma stressed that the ongoing conflict in South Sudan and some parts of Africa should not be interpreted as violence across the entire continent by the international community.

Koroma said since his country ended a devastating civil war in 2002, its economy has been growing at between 5 percent to 6 percent each year.

“Our objective is to find a balance between our gold and diamonds mining industry which is the backbone of our economy and the expansion of sustainable energy,” he said.

The three-day summit kicked off here on Monday in its seventh edition.

In his opening speech, the UAE minister of energy Suhail Al- Mazrouei said his country is a major investor in renewable energy projects in Africa.