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Seychelles at energy summit in Abu Dhabi |19 January 2012

Seychelles at energy summit in Abu Dhabi

The Seychelles delegation at the Abu Dhabi summit: (fro l to r) Mr Jean-Louis, Minister Sinon and Ambassador Esparon. Missing in the photo is Mr Imaduwa

The other members of the Seychelles delegation at the January 15-19 summit are the country’s ambassador to the UAE, Dick Esparon, the chief executive of the Seychelles Energy Commission (SEC) Andrew Jean-Louis, and the principal officer for renewable energy at the SEC, Tony Imaduwa.

The theme of this year’s summit is “Powering Sustainable Innovations”.
Among the prominent dignitaries at the forum are Sheikh Mohamad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao; South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik; President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson; President of the 66th UN General Assembly, Nasser Abdul Aziz Al Nasser; UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon; and the vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, among others.

In his keynote address, the UN secretary general took the opportunity to declare 2012 as the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for all”.

Amongst the special guests to deliver presentations at the opening ceremony was Bertrand Piccard, initiator and innovator of a project that successfully flew a solar-powered aeroplane through day and night.

In his speech, he stressed that the motivation behind his project was not to revolutionise air transportation, but rather to demonstrate that with the present and available technologies the sky is the limit as to what could be accomplished.

He implored governments to take affirmative action to apply the effective use of clean technology to power a more sustainable future. 
Central to the summit are the discussions and showcasing of various clean and alternative energy technologies that have potential to replace the current unsustainable reliance on fossil fuel. The latter is the main cause for carbon dioxide emissions and global warning.

As a Small Island Developing State (Sids), the Seychelles has already embarked on the path to embrace renewable energy for its sustainable development. One important initiative to facilitate this process is the formulation and eventual adoption of the new energy legislation. This will allow the private sector to fully take part in producing and supplying clean and renewable energy.

The ‘Port Victoria Wind Power Project’ being implemented by Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy company) is the first major flagship renewable energy project in Seychelles. Its realisation strongly substantiates the government’s commitment to building a more sustainable energy future. 

In his interaction with representatives of Masdar, Minister Sinon took the opportunity to express his gratitude, on behalf of the government of Seychelles, for the successful collaboration in the aforementioned endeavour.

He was reassured by Masdar of further collaboration in the renewable energy field.

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