{"id":5089,"date":"2016-08-29T09:56:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T09:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/?p=5089"},"modified":"2017-01-24T19:39:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T19:39:20","slug":"power-africa-launches-new-partnership-with-the-government-of-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/power-africa-launches-new-partnership-with-the-government-of-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Africa Launches New Partnership With The Government Of Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Power Africa has announced a new partnership arrangement with the Government of Japan focused on reducing energy poverty and increasing access to sustainable energy in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n

The Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between the United States and Japan — signed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) — includes commitments to share strengths, expertise and resources in an effort to accelerate access to renewable energy in Africa.<\/p>\n

Through Power Africa, USAID and MOFA seek to further align the Power Africa initiative and Japan\u2019s relevant efforts in the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) process and will provide a foundation for collaboration in the energy sector.<\/p>\n

Through this MOC, the Government of Japan is committing to bring an additional 1,200 megawatts (MW) of power to sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2018.<\/p>\n

Improvement of access to energy has been one of the key issues, and at TICAD\u2019s fifth summit in 2013, the Government of Japan made a commitment to provide financial support amounting to 200 billion JPY ($2 billion USD) to promote low-carbon energy in Africa over five years.<\/p>\n

This partnership arrangement represents the United States and Japan\u2019s shared commitment to contribute to the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular to contribute to efforts to achieve SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am pleased today to sign this Memorandum of Cooperation, on behalf of the United States Government, which represents a new partnership with the Government of Japan,\u201d said Linda Etim, the head of African Affairs for the U.S. Agency for International Development. \u201cJapan is already a strong partner in Africa as evidenced by the TICAD Summit and I am certain this partnership will advance our common commitment to electrifying the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to be partnering with Japan to increase access to renewable energy for people across sub-Saharan Africa,\u201d said Power Africa Coordinator Andrew Herscowitz. \u201cWith our combined resources and expertise, we are better equipped to facilitate the implementation of more low-carbon energy projects and enhance energy efficiency in existing power plants in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are glad to enter a new stage for our already strong partnership, and the signing of this MOC sends a strong message to African people that our governments are taking the issue of energy poverty seriously,\u201d said Seiji Okada, Ambassador for TICAD. \u201cI am also pleased to show that TICAD\u00a0is an open initiative to mobilize various efforts to overcome critical development issues in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, through this partnership, the United States and Japan intend to collaborate on the following issues, in order to accelerate our progress towards our shared goals under Power Africa:<\/p>\n