The ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, ECREEE, have agreed to exchange views on strengthening cooperation in the areas of diplomacy, regional integration, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.
In a statement on the ECOWAS website, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Cabo Verde, Ambassador João Ribeiro Butiam Co, and the Acting Executive Director of the ECREEE, Mr Gibson Okezie Obasi, paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Minister of Environment, Climate Action and Energy of Cabo Verde, Mr Carlos Varde.
The meeting provided an opportunity to congratulate the new minister on his appointment.
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In his opening remarks, Ambassador João Ribeiro Butiam Co highlighted the opportunities for Cabo Verde to further deepen its engagement with ECOWAS.
He stressed the importance of the “ECOWAS institutions and mechanisms already present in the country, notably the ECOWAS Resident Representation, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, ECREEE and the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre for Zone G”.
Mr Obasi reaffirmed ECREEE’s commitment to supporting Cabo Verde’s energy-transition agenda and outlined the Centre’s long-standing partnership with the country.
He further highlighted the crucial past interventions of ECREEE, including “decentralised renewable-energy and rural-electrification projects on several islands, including Santo Antão, Brava, São Nicolau and Fogo, with the deployment of photovoltaic and hybrid systems, mini-grids, and renewable-energy solutions for productive activities, among other initiatives”.
Both Ambassador Butiam Có and Mr Obasi noted that there are significant opportunities to make cooperation between ECOWAS and CaboVerde even more strategic.
“By connecting the country’s national priorities with forthcoming regional programmes and financing mechanisms in renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, mini-grids, e-mobility, and productive uses of clean energy was one of the pathways presented, even in other sectors within the ECOWAS 2050 Vision, including the importance of the ECOWAS Early Warning Center.”
The Cabo Verde New Minister of Environment, Climate Action and Energy, Carlos Varela, welcomed the visit; he highlighted the importance of his government working with ECOWAS and emphasised the importance of strengthening technical cooperation between his ministry and ECREEE.
“A technical team from the Ministry works with ECREEE to identify concrete areas through which the Centre can support Cabo Verde in achieving its national target of seventy per cent renewable-energy production by 2030.”
The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of Cabo Verde, ECOWAS Representation and ECREEE to deepen their partnership and accelerate the country’s clean-energy transition.
The ECREEE reiterated that it sees Cabo Verde not only as its host country but also as a strategic partner in advancing the energy transition and sustainable development across West Africa.
