Djibouti eager to develop clean energy and support peace in Somalia
10.11.2009 //
Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emphasized Djibouti's ambitions in developing its renewable energies in a meeting with ambassador Jens-Petter Kjemprud last Saturday. He said that Djibouti's possibilities in taking advantage of it's geothermal energy is now being explored with the help of Iceland and that the country's possibilities in solar and wind power is obvious, given its climate and location at the Indian Ocean.
Ambassador Kjemprud accompanied by counsellor Silje Vikøy expressed Norway's willingness to support the development of clean energy in the region and said Norway is supporting hydropower development in Ethiopia (transmission lines being built to Djibouti) and said that Norwegian funded Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could be utilised to explore and install solar and wind power in Djibouti.
The two parties further discussed the developments in Somalia and how the Djibouti process could be supported, including strenghtening of AMISOM with Djiboutian contributions as well as strategies to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia.