IRENA, RCREEE renews partnership to scale up RE deployment in MENA

The agencies will collaborate in regional dialogues and initiatives to strengthen energy transition.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) have renewed their partnership to beef up the energy transition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

IRENA and RCREEE signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue. This in effect renewed an existing MoU the agencies signed in 2015.

“The energy transition offers a must-seize opportunity for the MENA region,” IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said. 

“By taking advantage of abundant renewable energy resources, countries in the region, many of which are highly dependent on fossil fuels, can future proof their economies and chart a long-term path of sustainable economic growth for future generations.”

The MoU provided that the IRENA and RCREEE will partner in regional dialogues and initiatives to respond to challenges, and needs as well as capture opportunities in the clean energy transition in the region.

The agencies will also share knowledge and cooperate in capacity building across countries in MENA, particularly through enabling policy and regulatory frameworks.

“The MENA region thanks to its geographic position, can play a key role in the energy transition process,” RCREEE Executive Director Jauad El Kharraz said. 

“It is thus of utmost importance to cooperate in order to lead the region into a sustainable future, starting from the reinforcement of the regional cooperation.”

With the renewal of the partnership, the agencies are expected to introduce new areas of cooperation and adapt existing collaborative activities to recent challenges facing the development of renewable energy in the region.