Piyush Goyal urges African countries to join International Solar Alliance

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy, has urged Africa to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which is headquartered in New Delhi, as it would benefit countries in this region immensely. Speaking at the CII-Exim Bank conclave on ‘India Africa project partnership, in New Delhi on March 15, 2016, he said, “Exim Bank could explain the finer aspects of ISA to African governments and also work toward engagement of Indian companies for solar projects in Africa through the line of credit (LOC) route.”
 
Stating that India and Africa should deepen partnerships for development of micro grids and off grids, Goyal said, “India and Africa should deepen the cooperation for realisation of UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) well before year 2030.”
 
According to Ekwow Spio Garbrah, minister of trade and industry, Ghana, India can play a key part in creating solar energy development capacity across the vast Sahara desert where land is not arable. With regard to implementation of projects launched by India in Africa, he called for setting up an international coordination mechanism to ensure seamless and timely implementation of projects.
 
Garbrah stated, “African governments have directed focused attention on governance systems, regulatory frameworks, entrepreneurship development and the like, creating highly investment-friendly domestic environments. However, the region has not made commensurate progress in terms of industrialisation, technology access and capacity building. India could be partner Africa in bridging these deficits.”
 
Inviting Indian investments in South Sudan in agriculture, mining, oil exploration, infrastructure development and social services, the country’ s vice president, James Wani Igga, said, “Indian investments in Africa must be directed toward areas where Africa enjoys comparative advantage.”