Under the patronage of Engineer Mustafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the International African Conference “High-Level Forum on Energy Sector Interconnection” kicked off this morning in the city of peace, Sharm El-Sheikh. The conference is organized and hosted by the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity, in collaboration with the African Union of Electricity and Energy Utilities (AUW), and it is attended by a large number of partners from African electricity and energy regions and associations. There is strong participation from the African Development Bank, numerous energy ministers from the continent, and holding companies for electricity and energy from over 35 African countries. The conference sessions will continue for four days, addressing many important issues focusing on energy security, energy and electricity exchange in the continent, and achieving continental development goals.
Dr. Yousrey El-Sharkawi, Chairman of EABA, stated that the association is keen on attending and actively participating in this important continental conference. He emphasized that electricity and energy have become crucial pathways to comprehensive continental development. Without coordinated efforts to achieve the goal of electricity production on the continent, comprehensive economic integration and the desired expansion of investment, agricultural, and commercial projects between African countries cannot be achieved.
El-Sharkawi expressed his hope that important outcomes would emerge from this conference, and that we would stand by decisions and recommendations that support the recommendations made at the 27th and 28th Climate Change Conferences. These conferences affirmed that Africa is the continent most affected by carbon impact and emissions, yet it contributes less than 3% to the negative impacts of emissions compared to other world countries. Thus, these countries must fulfill their obligations towards the continent and contribute significantly to improving energy production levels on the continent.
El Sharkawi pointed out
The goals of such conferences are ambitious, which is why there are more than 10 major companies operating in the electricity and energy sectors already involved in energy projects on the continent. Among them are two prominent companies, EgyMec and Giza Power, and Giza Cables, of which we are proud members of the association. This conference will witness significant cooperation and contracts between energy production companies in African countries and Egyptian companies that have set a precedent in infrastructure rebuilding in electricity projects in Egypt over the past decade.
El Sharkawi emphasized that Africa needs 9 million electricity lines and accelerating energy transfer between African countries is crucial, requiring $4 billion annually. Our needs to confront the effects of climate change annually and globally require $1.3 trillion. Africa’s share of these allocations is necessary to provide energy. It is not reasonable for 130 million Africans to cook their food using primitive methods without energy, and more than half a billion Africans do not have regular electricity, with some living in darkness. If we want to effectively utilize our continental economic resources and expand agriculture and industry to double African GDP and produce African economic outputs that make serious and genuine contributions to the global economy, we must unite as Africa to achieve this.
