SA, Germany sign MoU on energy

Friday, February 22, 2013

Pretoria - South Africa and Germany on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation between the two countries on energy issues.

The two parties said they were determined to enhance the bilateral dialogue and practical cooperation between them in the energy sector by establishing a partnership, which builds on the on-going successful cooperation in the energy sector.

The main objective of the energy partnership is improving and developing a sustainable energy infrastructure, particular through the increased use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Both acknowledged activities under various existing bilateral and multilateral dialogues and took note of the recent advancement in renewable energy efficiency technologies, the available renewable energy resources in South Africa and the consequent opportunities for their widespread applications.

They recognized the creation of appropriate market environments for the increasing role of private sector involvement, along with an enabling framework for strong public-private partnerships.

The energy partnership complements the existing Declarations of Intent for the “South African – German Cooperation in the Area of Energy and Climate” (November 2010) as well as the “South African Renewables Initiative (SARI)”.

The Declaration of Intent on the “South African – German Cooperation in the Area of Energy and Climate” sets out the specific areas of cooperation, goals of joint activities, and competent authorities.

It also provides a strategic framework for South African – German Development Cooperation in the energy sector.

The SARI International Partnership has been established collaboratively to support the accelerated scale up of investment for the development of renewables in South Africa.

The energy partnership will inter alia build upon these Declarations of Intent and will provide a general framework for political dialogue and cooperation in the energy sector for both sides.

Both parties have underlined their shared objective to guarantee the secure and sustainable supply and utilisation of energy also in the light of international climate protection efforts.

They further recognised the importance of science and technology in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, and underlined the importance of strengthening international cooperation on energy research and development.

The two will strengthen their cooperation on capacity building, institutional arrangements, including public awareness-raising, personnel exchange and training.

They will also encourage private sector companies to cooperate closely and to explore further business opportunities.  – SAnews.gov.za