Morocco and Ethiopia signed, on December 6, on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the creation of a Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access (CSEA).
This memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed between the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), and the Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy aims to monitor relations between the parties and determine the conditions and modalities of their cooperation for the establishment of a Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access.
The signing of this Memorandum is an illustration of Morocco’s continuing commitment to South-South cooperation, particularly with African countries, with the aim of advocating for active solidarity to meet the challenges of climate change and sustainable development.
Initialed by the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, the Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Itefa Geleta, and MASEN’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Tarik Hamane, this memorandum also ensures the inclusiveness of the new entity, which is open to all United Nations member countries, with flexible and balanced governance, operationality, and representation among all different regions.
As agreed by the parties, the CSEA shall be an independent entity, recognized by the United Nations system, and focused on the exchange of expertise, and the sharing of knowledge and skills in the field of sustainable energy.
According to the agreement, the CSEA will have a training center, with permanent headquarters in Ethiopia, and a Secretariat in Morocco, which will be in charge of determining the Coalition’s budget and reporting to the Executive Committee, including the appointment of staff, the Secretariat’s organization, and operation, the implementation of its missions and the execution of the budget.
In terms of sustainable and effective cooperation, the parties agreed that the CSEA’s actions must be structured around several objectives, which include strengthening the member countries’ capacity and autonomy in sustainable energy development, particularly in the areas of public policy development, needs assessment, human capacity development and generating greater synergies between beneficiary countries by coordinating and aligning their political commitments towards a common vision and roadmap that will enable the achievement of Social Development Goal (SDG) 7.
The agreement’s objectives also include the establishment of mechanisms of mutual assistance, exchange, cooperation, technology, and good practices between the member countries’ institutions and organizations in the field of energy transition. and renewable and sustainable energy, and the creation of a common renewable energy market capable of attracting larger and more experienced investors.
Contributing to the search for funding for the implementation of transition projects and access to sustainable energy and the mobilization of resources for the proper implementation of joint plans and programs is also one of the agreement’s objectives.
As for the organization of the new entity, the parties involved agreed to establish a Steering Committee composed of representatives of each of the founders, with the aim of developing a draft CESA statute and a roadmap providing visibility on the steps leading to the creation of the CSEA.
Following the finalization and signing of the institution’s statutes, the founders shall proceed to the creation of a Transition Committee in charge of the promotion of CSEA’s membership among other countries and the implementation of all necessary measures to attract the largest number of members.
Subsequently, the Committee will be called upon to convene the first (constitutive) General Assembly of the CSEA and submit proposals for operational and organizational documents.
