Uganda’s Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda is in Abu Dhabi to attend the 9th session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
The Assembly is the Agency’s supreme decision-making body and it brings together Heads of State, Ministers, government officials, and representatives from the private sector, civil society and other international organisations.
Delegates meet to reaffirm the global renewable energy agenda and make concrete steps to accelerate the global energy transition.
At the Assembly which will run between January 11 and 13 at the St Regis Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Rugunda will be representing President Yoweri Museveni.
According to the program of the lined up events, the Assembly will feature two ministerial roundtables. The roundtables will bring together Ministers and high-level participants to discuss the role of renewables in achieving universal energy access and the transformative impact innovation is having in the renewable energy sector.
Prime Minister Rugunda will make a presentation on behalf of Uganda and President Museveni stating the country’s commitment to developing renewable energy sources to support social and economic transformation.
Delegates will also witness the launch of the IRENA publication during a special evening event themed on “Gender in the Energy Transformation”.
The event will feature an interactive discussion on the gender dimension of the energy transformation.
Oher series of activities during the Assembly include plenary sessions characterized by presentations where delegates will make contributions as well as stakeholder groups and the private sector.
Plenaries will focus on aspects of the Agency’s work and actions by countries in the development and deployment of renewables.
Thematic meetings, organised by IRENA, and in collaboration with stakeholders, will be held over the course of the Assembly.
The main objectives of these will be to raise awareness of the importance of renewable energy and its impact on sustainable development, connect policy makers, experts and 3 innovators from many countries to learn from each other, share good practices and inform decision makers by identifying shared needs and finding common ground on shared priorities.
The Assembly takes place at the outset of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and is followed by the World Future Energy Summit, from January 14 to 17, which will also feature a number of events hosted by IRENA.