Cairo, Egypt– The UAE and Egypt are looking to ramp up cooperation in the fields of higher education and scientific research.
In this connection, Sheikh Dr. Ammar bin Nasser Al Mualla, attaché of education and technology sciences of the UAE in Egypt, discussed with Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt, ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries
During the meeting, which was held in Cairo, Ashour highlighted the depth of the UAE-Egypt ties across all levels, especially in the fields of scientific, cultural and educational cooperation.
He also instructed to provide all aspects of support to Emirati students studying in Egyptian universities.
For his part, Sheikh Dr. Al Mualla praised the relations between the UAE and Egypt, emphasizing Egypt’s leading role in the education field, stressing the UAE’s keenness to deepen its cooperation with Egypt in the field of higher education.
The two countries have been deepening their relations in other fields too. In June this year, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities signed an agreement with Egypt to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) capacity onshore wind farm in Egypt, set to be one of the largest in the world, with a project value of over US$ 10 billion.
The signing in Cairo was witnessed by Egyptian Prime Minister, HE Moustafa Madbouly, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister for Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, Nayer Fouad, Chief Executive Officer of Infinity Power, and Hassan and Amr Allam, Chief Executive Officers of Hassan Allam Holding.
The landmark wind project will produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy per year and reduce around 9 percent of Egypt’s annual carbon emissions by displacing 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
The wind farm will also help Egypt meet its strategic objective of sourcing 42 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030. The 10 GW plant will save the North African nation an estimated US$ 5 billion in natural gas costs a year.
The original agreement to develop the 10 GW wind farm was signed between Masdar, Hassan Allam Utilities and Infinity Power and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission company and witnessed by the presidents of the UAE and Egypt on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference, COP27, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt last year.
As the UAE’s flagship renewable energy company, Masdar’s role demonstrates its deep and lasting commitment towards supporting African nations such as Egypt to meet their ambitious renewable energy objectives.
The project is being developed by the consortium led by Masdar and its partners: Infinity Power, Masdar’s joint venture with Egypt’s Infinity, which is Africa’s largest pure play renewable power company; and Hassan Allam Utilities, a sustainable infrastructure focused investment platform.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, said: “This 10GW onshore wind project is set to be one of the largest wind farms in the world, and largest on the African continent. It is a sign of the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt, with great potential to create jobs, cut emissions and power homes with clean electricity at competitive economical costs.”
He added: “The world needs to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Projects like these will support the global efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and help keep the ambition of 1.5 intact while enabling significant socio-economic growth. The UAE looks forward to hosting COP28, we continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Global South in their efforts to decarbonize and secure a just energy transition.”
Dr Mohamed Shaker Al-Markabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy in Egypt, said: “Egypt has an ambitious program to advance the Egyptian electricity sector in various fields, foremost of which is optimizing the use of new and renewable energy resources and encouraging investment in this field, which would contribute to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and continue to reduce carbon emissions, in line with Egypt’s energy strategy to have up to 42 percent of our energy mix from renewable energy sources by 2030, while complementing the National Climate Strategy 2050 to face the challenges of climate change and achieve sustainable economic growth.”
In March, Masdar became the largest operator of renewables in Africa after its joint venture with Egypt’s Infinity – Infinity Power – acquired Lekela Power, a renewables developer with operations across the continent. Masdar also demonstrated its commitment to African nations by signing deals to develop renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of up to 5 GW in Angola, Uganda, and Zambia, in January.