Qatar’s delegation to the meeting was headed by President of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari.
Cairo: The meeting for the launch of the knowledge-sharing programme on the Arab common market for electricity kicked off at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo on Monday.
The State of Qatar’s delegation to the meeting was headed by President of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari.
The two-day meeting was organised by the Secretariat General of the Arab League in cooperation with the World Bank and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
In his opening speech Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Economic Affairs sector in the Arab League Dr. Ali bin Ibrahim Al Malki said that the meeting was an introductory meeting for the members of the Arab common market for electricity committee, the advisory and regulatory committee, and the electricity systems operators committee, to launch a new work phase for the establishment of the Arab common market for electricity.
He explained that it will be a different executive phase, in which the efforts of the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity, all committees and work teams will be combined.
He pointed out that the meeting was the result of all the past work, and was the beginning of a new chapter of achievements and the opening of new opportunities, as well as the development of effective methods to support joint Arab action, remarking the vision for the joint Arab market for electricity, contained in the memorandum of understanding signed by 16 Arab countries in 2017, following extensive efforts led by the Arab League to reach a common consensus.
The Assistant Secretary-General stressed that regional electricity trade exchange is an effective force to achieve integration among Arab markets, leading to sustainable development that in turn will contribute to the economic prosperity of the Arab region.
He stressed the need for more cross-border investment to increase trade opportunities among Arab countries for countries to benefit from the integration of electricity networks, the most important of which are economic benefits and cost savings, which result from coordinating national expansion plans, and increasing electricity regularity rates thanks to the increased optimisation of reserve capacities, and resilience in the face of crises by sharing resources.
He added that all these benefits will support the fundamental transformation of energy in the Arab region, not only towards more sustainable growth but also towards achieving Arab integration in the field of energy and electricity markets.
The Assistant Secretary-General said that he is fully convinced that the joint work of the first transitional phase, which ends in 2024, will be of great importance to the success of the common Arab electricity market because the establishment of the market’s institutions is expected to be created by then, particularly the establishment of market committees (the advisory and regulatory committee, and the electricity systems operators committee).
He added that the electricity sector in most Arab countries provides good quality electric power to all consumers, and pumps huge investments to keep pace with the steady increase in consumption, hence Arab countries’ interest in establishing and developing an integrated Arab market for electricity, which is modern and capable of development, pointing out that all development institutions have a role to encourage electricity trade in the Arab region.
