India Joins Forces with UAE & France for Trilateral on Clean Energy

Together with France and the United Arab Emirates, India will collaborate on and look at opportunities worth exploring in the Indian Ocean region. In a telephonic exchange held recently, the Foreign Ministers of the said countries expressed an interest in uniting forces in the areas of solar energy, climate change and biodiversity. UAE’s Finance Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, India’s Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.

A statement by the Government said that during the call, the involved parties mutually agreed that the trilateral will prove to be a platform that encourages the “design and execution of cooperation projects in the fields of energy with a focus on solar energy”. This cooperation will also pave the path for the fight against climate change. This initiative will particularly set sights on the Indian Ocean region. Further the statement read as, “For this purpose, the three countries will explore the possibility of working with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA0 to pursue concrete, actionable projects on clean energy, the environment…”

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an “inter-governmental organisation aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region through its 23 Member States and 10 Dialogue Partners.”

The initiative will also be a step forward for cooperation for the development agencies of India, UAE and France where  sustainable projects are concerned. The pact will algin with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

The UAE and India have been already working closely for renewable energy. Recently, along the sidelines of the India-UAE Partnership Summit, the UAE extended cooperation to India with regards to New Delhi’s target of 450 GW worth of installed capacity by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was also signed last year with the hopes to partner on clean energy.

India and France, it may be recalled, were re-elected as President and Co-President of the International Solar Alliance, formed by the two countries.