Small African Nations Seek Indian Support Through ISA

Speaking on the sidelines of Fourth Smart Cities India 2018 Expo, underway at the Pragati Maidan, Gambian Ambassador said that they are seeking technical support from India through ISA. She was referring to small population nations of the African continent.

To build up their solar capacity, small African nations are looking towards India for assistance and support in the field through International Solar Alliance (ISA). The nations have either ratified the ISA or are yet to do so.

Speaking on the sidelines of Fourth Smart Cities India 2018 Expo, underway at the Pragati Maidan, Gambian Ambassador Jainaba Jagne said that they are seeking technical support from India through ISA. She was referring to small population nations of the African continent.

“Ours is a small nation with a population of only 1.9 million. Now, when we say this, people often roll their eyes or laugh, but the fact is that there is huge opportunity for business in solar sector. Though we have not ratified the ISA yet, we are seeking technical support from India through International Solar Alliance,” he said

Referring to her own country she said there are huge opportunities for the solar companies in Gambia. Highlighting the rough data she said that only 70 percent of urban and 15 percent of rural area is electrified.

Seewaj Nundlall, Cousellor Investment and Trade, Mauritius Embassy said, “Mauritius’ population is about 1,000 times smaller than India — you have 1.2 billion people, we have 1.2 million. Our peak power demand is 700 MW, of which 80 per cent comes from coal. Here in India and through the ISA, we are seeking expertise in terms of building capacity.”

Pertinent to mention here that, Mauritius, a small African nation, is founding member of the ISA.

The ISA was launched jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the landmark 2015-Paris Climate Agreement meeting.