UAE spares no effort to advance IRENA's mission: Khalifa

The UAE will spare no effort to offer adequate support and assistance needed to make the mission of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) a success after selecting Abu Dhabi as home to the world organisation, President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan affirmed yesterday.

The President pledged to support IRENA's future strategy, mission and plans.

“The UAE is striving to develop and boost its rich resources and expertise in the international energy markets and enhance its leading role as a world centre for renewable energy research and development,” the President said at a meeting with the UAE taskforce which was credited with the UAE winning of the seat of IRENA. Presence at the meeting were H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President's Representative, and H.H. Gen. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

“We are lending proper care to development of the renewable energy sector which is experiencing accelerating growth especially that many international initiatives call for pumping more investment in renewable energy technologies in order to make them available in world markets,” he emphasised.

“We are determined to forge ahead to implement a comprehensive energy policy seeking to shift from the phase of consuming to producing technology through adoption of renewable energy solutions and benefiting from experiences IRENA can provide in this respect,” Sheikh Khalifa added.

Members of the IRENA team said they were pleased with meeting the President and offered him best wishes on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. They said Abu Dhabi would not have won the race to host IRENA's HQ without the unequivocal support, care and directives of the President which crowned their efforts with success.

They said they were looking forward to establish Abu Dhabi as capital of renewable energy in the years to come guided by the far-sighted vision and sound planning. - Emirates News Agency, WAM