Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that the continent will play an increasingly important role in the world’s energy future.
The Governing Board of IEA revealed this on Thursday when it unanimously agreed that the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Senegal will join the Agency’s Family as Association countries, which demonstrates IEA’s efforts to deepen engagement on energy and climate issues across Africa.
IEA Member countries unanimously approved the proposal to strengthen ties with Kenya and Senegal on June 21, following the requests from the governments of these countries to become part of the family. This will bring the number of sub-Saharan African nations who are now members of the energy Agency’s family to three, including South Africa.
The Chairman of IEA’s Governing Board, Anders Hoffmann, said that “Africa will play an increasingly important role in the world’s energy future, so I am delighted that the Governing Board has unanimously supported bringing Kenya and Senegal into the IEA Family, enabling us all to benefit from their perspectives and deepen cooperation on energy security, access, and climate issues.
“The IEA is already working closely with both Kenya and Senegal on a range of key areas, and I’m extremely happy that we are further strengthening our ties.”
The Executive Director of IEA, Fatih Birol, stated that welcoming these two dynamic economies into the IEA Family is a new milestone in the Agency’s longstanding engagement on energy issues in Africa and it underlines the global reach of the Agency.
According to him, “we look forward to even greater cooperation with Kenya and Senegal to work together as the new global energy economy emerges and to ensure a secure and sustainable future for citizens in Africa and around the world.”
Kenya is currently working with the IEA on a wide range of topics, including data and statistics capacity building, clean energy transition policies, energy efficiency policy implementation, and energy access. Senegal has worked closely with IEA since a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in 2019 and renewed in October 2022.