14 Arab countries sign MoU to establish joint Arab electricity market

Energy ministers of 14 Arab countries signed on Thursday a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an Arab Common Market for Electricity, Anadolu Agency reported.

The memo was signed on the sidelines of the 12th session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity, which was held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

“The MoU signed by the ministers in charge of electricity in the Arab countries confirms their political commitment to an integrated electricity supply system for the power grids of the Arab countries,” the Assistant Secretary General and Chairman of the Economic Affairs Sector at the Arab League, Kamal Hassan Ali, said in a speech at the Arab ministerial meeting as quoted by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Ali explained that the agreement, which was signed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Union of the Comoros, Kuwait, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Yemen, comes into effect once the agreement had been signed by seven of the 14 countries.

The council discussed the Arab strategy for sustainable energy, including monitoring the development of renewable energy in the region, as well as maintaining energy efficiency and reducing oil consumption. The meeting’s participants also welcomed the cooperation with the International Agency for Renewable Energy.

According to an official statement by the Arab council, renewable energy sources currently account for 18 per cent of the world’s total energy production, which is scheduled to double by 2030. This strategy would be helped by moving to renewable energy systems, and therefore reducing carbon dioxide emission levels.

Following the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, MENA countries have been increasingly investing in the renewable energy sector as a new source of generating electricity, which has had a notable impact in reducing total fuel consumption, especially after the dramatic fall in crude oil prices.