Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 31 October 2018: The African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid held high-level discussions with top officials of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on 17 and 18 October 2018 in London, United Kingdom.

The Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF), through which support is provided to private and public geothermal developers to promote geothermal development and which is partly funded by DfID was at the heart of the Commissioner’s discussions with the senior leaders of DfID.

In May 2018, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) has conducted an independent review of the performance of the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) programme and to focus on key recommendations to inform future programming of the GRMF.

“It is important to recognize the continuing, positive efforts and initiatives of the GRMF. We are committed to deepen our strategic partnership collaboration with DfID in other fields beyond the GRMF project” said H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid.

The Commissioner went on to explain that a high level meeting with DFID was of utter importance to discuss the findings of the independent review report and brainstorm on the way forward.

In 2012, the Commission, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU)-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU-Africa ITF), via KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW), established the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility, as a financial tool for supporting geothermal energy development in Eastern Africa. The GRMF is hosted and managed by the Commission, with an initial capital of euro 50 million, of which euro 30 million from the EU-Africa ITF and euro 20 million from BMZ. Additionally, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) contributed GBP 47 million in 2014 which was reduced to GBP 39 million in 2017. The Commission is also contributing around half a million US dollars annually for staff salary and the monitoring of the GRMF operations.

Meanwhile, a bilateral meeting between African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid and Vice-President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Mr. Pierre Heilbronn was also held to strengthen relations between the two institutions. They discussed a number of programmes and projects, which are championed by the African Union Commission, and highlighted the need for accelerating specific projects.

Enhancing private sector involvement as the cornerstone for Infrastructure Development; energy efficiency and renewable energy for inclusive growth; tourism as a pathway for job creation; renewed focus to infrastructure development in rural and remote areas through an integrated approach; and improving individual and institutional capacities in regional infrastructure project preparation were also discussed in detail.

The Vice President also expressed his and EBRD’s appreciation to the activities of the African Union Commission, perfectly suited to complement EBRD activities in the continent. He emphasized the vision of the Bank to expand its network to the Sub-Saharan African region, one of the world's fastest-growing regions.

For further information:
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Website: http://www.au.int
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