State Secretary Jürgen Becker stresses Germany's commitment to achieving the age of renewables
The road has been further paved for the successful establishment of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In Abu Dhabi, the fourth session of the preparatory commission agreed on a budget of about 13 million US dollars for the year 2011, in particular for advancing work in the fields of policy advice and knowledge management. The United Arab Emirates is supporting the work with around another 7 million US dollars. The German government will make 3 million US dollars available for the IRENA Centre of Innovation and Technology in Bonn.
Following talks with the United Arab Emirates, State Secretary at the German Environment Ministry Jürgen Becker, who headed the German delegation in Abu Dhabi, stressed: "We are convinced of the pressing need for the expansion of renewable energies and of the enormous opportunities it presents. We want to work together with all the IRENA countries to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies worldwide. In record time, the number of IRENA member states has doubled to nearly 150 countries."
The first meeting of the Assembly, the agency's highest body, will be held at the beginning of April 2011. This will make IRENA a fully legal international organisation and conclude the founding process. The Director-General of IRENA will be elected In April. Until then, Vice Director-General Adnan Amin from Kenya will be acting head of the Secretariat.
Germany and the United Arab Emirates, as initiator and host country of IRENA, underlined their intention to continue working together to advance the establishment of IRENA. "The Chair of MASDAR Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber and I have agreed to intensify our cooperation both bilaterally and for the benefit of IRENA. The United Arab Emirates is an excellent business location for the German renewable energies industry and research institutes" said Becker.
The United Arab Emirates is Germany’s most important economic partner in the Middle East and North Africa, importing more of Germany's goods and services than any other country in the region. German direct investments in the Arab world are also highest in the UAE. Around 800 branches of German enterprises, many of them in the field of renewable energies, are registered in the country. The establishment of the German-Emirate Chamber of Foreign Trade in May 2009 created a platform to further strengthen these excellent economic relations.
A minute's silence was observed for Hermann Scheer, who passed away the previous week. He was honoured for his commitment to the promotion of renewable energies and especially for his role as one of the founding fathers of IRENA.