(Seychelles News Agency) - The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, will depart Seychelles for Abu Dhabi on Friday to attend the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2023 (ADSW), according to a State House press statement on Thursday.

Ramkalwan was invited to attend the ADSW by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

“During his participation at ASDW 2023, President Ramkalawan will participate in an interactive dialogue alongside the President of the Republic of Palau, H.E. Surangel S. Whipps Jr. addressing key themes such as the impact of climate change on small nations, the importance of the COP process to small nations and examining what the country is doing to adapt to climate change as well as the importance of the multilateral process,” said the statement.

The Seychelles delegation to the ADSW 2023 includes the Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert, the Principal Secretary for Climate Change and Energy, Tony Imaduwa, the CEO of the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), Joel Valmont, the CEO of the Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA), Vincent Amelie and the acting CEO of Seychelles Energy Commission (SEC), Bernice Charles.

The President’s delegation will also participate in the 13th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) Assembly in Abu Dhabi on the margins of ADSW. The Assembly will be held under theme ‘World Energy Transition – The Global Stocktake’.

President Ramkalawan is expected to also engage in various high-level sessions, “addressing some of the pertinent issues related to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Climate Change, and the energy transition in the coming decade and beyond,” said State House.

Long-standing cooperation on renewable energy with Abu Dhabi

Seychelles has developed several projects through the ADSW and bilateral relations with the government of the UAE for the development of renewable energy projects, with the Arab nation being its main partner in this domain.

In 2013, a wind farm of 8 turbines was installed in the Port of Victoria, becoming the first significant renewable energy provider in the country, which was financed by the UAE and the project was managed in collaboration with Masdar – a UAE government body for renewable energy.

In December 2022, a 5-megawatt solar farm was inaugurated on Seychelles' man-made island, Ile de Romainville, which was financed mainly through a loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), which was again developed in cooperation with Masdar.

Meanwhile, Seychelles is aiming to develop further projects so that it can achieve its target of 15 percent renewable energy by 2030.