President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday urged African presidents to embrace renewable energy in their development agenda at the ongoing African Union (AU) Summit.
The President, who began his meetings in Addis Ababa by attending the 5th Board of Directors’ meeting of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), expressed the need to prioritize projects that will provide sufficient amounts of clean, appropriate and affordable energy.
“What we need is to quickly agree on which projects that should be given priority in this area,” President Kenyatta told the meeting that was attended by Presidents Alpha Conde (Guinea) and Hage Geingob (Namibia).
[caption caption="President Kenyatta in Addis Ababa on Saturday"]
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The meeting, which discussed financing for renewable energy projects and the governance structure of AREI, was also attended by the African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina while the Presidents of Egypt and Chad sent representatives.
President Kenyatta is also scheduled to chair the 27th Session of the Heads of State and Government participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) forum later in the day.
Earlier on Friday, President Kenyatta traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the summit whose theme is “Winning the fight against corruption: A sustainable path to Africa’s transformation”.
The President left the country after announcing a major shake-up of his administration, as he nears completion of assembling the team to help him deliver on his second term agenda.
On Saturday, President Uhuru also today met UN Secretary-General António Guterres and discussed regional peace.
Mr Guterres acknowledged the South Sudan peace initiatives spearheaded by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and encouraged member states including Kenya not to give up their efforts.
The UN Secretary-General also called on all the parties involved in the conflict to work together in the search for a lasting solution.
Kenya has been at the forefront in promoting peace and security both at the regional and continental arena. Consequently, President Kenyatta will be among the leaders who will deliberate on the state of peace and security in the continent at the AU’s Peace and Security Council meeting. Kenya is slated to chair the Peace and Security Council in February.
[caption caption="President Kenyatta with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres "]
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